<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka suffered a tough 2-1 Santosh Trophy Group H qualifying round defeat to Services at the noisy Bangalore Football Stadium here, as the visitors now have one foot in the next stage of the competition. </p><p>Mileswamy Govindraju’s team put Karnataka’s penalty box under siege with a flurry of shots in the first half, with the very first resulting in a handball and a penalty. </p><p>Khullakpam Zahir Khan made no mistake and slotted one into the right corner past Blue Colts’ goalkeeper Sahil to give Services a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. </p><p>Karnataka were put under pressure again, this time by Shubham Rana, who lofted a beautiful ball into the box, that was headed into the net by Zahir to make it 2-0 seven minutes later. </p><p>As the game progressed, Karnataka looked to get one back when Crispin C Cleetus turned Maracton Louis Nickson’s ball into a chance, only to be saved by Gagandeep Singh. </p><p>The hosts were again denied, this time by the woodwork, when skipper Nikhil Raj created space on the left and breached into the box, only to hit the crossbar. </p>.<p>With the game slipping away, coach Ravi Babu Raju rang in the changes as Nikhil was subbed off and Bengaluru FC’s Shreyas Ketkar was given the armband. </p>.<p>Dhanush R and Arvind Babu G were introduced, which resulted in a structural change, with Rohen Singh moving into the wings from a right back position. </p>.Krishnappa Gowtham calls time on career, bows out as a cricketer.<p>Maracton, who had a disappointing game against Lakshadweep, gave Karnataka hope with a sensational strike into the top corner to draw one back in the 68th minute, thanks to Dhanush’s brilliant first touch and pass.</p>.<p>Against the run of play, Services then strode in unchallenged from the left and supplied one up front, which was picked up by Roshan Panna, who only managed to hit it to the keeper. </p>.<p>There was a bit of drama as well after Karnataka’s equaliser was ruled out due to a foul, which created a bit of ruckus in the stands. The police, however, intervened and cooled down the tempers. </p>.<p>Services now have destiny in their own hands, while Karnataka will need to beat Goa by a big margin and hope for the Services-Lakshadweep result goes their way. </p>.<p>Results: Services: 2 (Khullakpam Zahir Khan 8th pen, 15th) bt Karnataka: 1 (Macarton Louis Nickson 68th); Lakshadweep: 1 (Sabir Ali Babu Pandaram 65th) drew with Goa: 1 (Selwyn Frazier Miranda 45th+1). </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka suffered a tough 2-1 Santosh Trophy Group H qualifying round defeat to Services at the noisy Bangalore Football Stadium here, as the visitors now have one foot in the next stage of the competition. </p><p>Mileswamy Govindraju’s team put Karnataka’s penalty box under siege with a flurry of shots in the first half, with the very first resulting in a handball and a penalty. </p><p>Khullakpam Zahir Khan made no mistake and slotted one into the right corner past Blue Colts’ goalkeeper Sahil to give Services a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. </p><p>Karnataka were put under pressure again, this time by Shubham Rana, who lofted a beautiful ball into the box, that was headed into the net by Zahir to make it 2-0 seven minutes later. </p><p>As the game progressed, Karnataka looked to get one back when Crispin C Cleetus turned Maracton Louis Nickson’s ball into a chance, only to be saved by Gagandeep Singh. </p><p>The hosts were again denied, this time by the woodwork, when skipper Nikhil Raj created space on the left and breached into the box, only to hit the crossbar. </p>.<p>With the game slipping away, coach Ravi Babu Raju rang in the changes as Nikhil was subbed off and Bengaluru FC’s Shreyas Ketkar was given the armband. </p>.<p>Dhanush R and Arvind Babu G were introduced, which resulted in a structural change, with Rohen Singh moving into the wings from a right back position. </p>.Krishnappa Gowtham calls time on career, bows out as a cricketer.<p>Maracton, who had a disappointing game against Lakshadweep, gave Karnataka hope with a sensational strike into the top corner to draw one back in the 68th minute, thanks to Dhanush’s brilliant first touch and pass.</p>.<p>Against the run of play, Services then strode in unchallenged from the left and supplied one up front, which was picked up by Roshan Panna, who only managed to hit it to the keeper. </p>.<p>There was a bit of drama as well after Karnataka’s equaliser was ruled out due to a foul, which created a bit of ruckus in the stands. The police, however, intervened and cooled down the tempers. </p>.<p>Services now have destiny in their own hands, while Karnataka will need to beat Goa by a big margin and hope for the Services-Lakshadweep result goes their way. </p>.<p>Results: Services: 2 (Khullakpam Zahir Khan 8th pen, 15th) bt Karnataka: 1 (Macarton Louis Nickson 68th); Lakshadweep: 1 (Sabir Ali Babu Pandaram 65th) drew with Goa: 1 (Selwyn Frazier Miranda 45th+1). </p>