Santosh Trophy: Punjab to lock horns with Goa in semis

Punjab, Goa, Services and Karnataka are set to fight it out on April 19 for a spot in the final of Santosh Trophy.

Ludhiana: Punjab, Goa, Services and Karnataka will fight it out for a spot in the final of the Santosh Trophy here on Friday.

After a rigorous number of Zonal Qualifiers, a total of 10 teams made it to the finals.

• Services, Goa, Delhi, Meghalaya and Odisha were clubbed in Group A, while Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Sikkim and home side Punjab were placed in Group B.
• Group A turned out to be a straightforward affair, with Services and Goa finishing with 10 points apiece, four ahead of their nearest opponents Delhi, with the former finishing as group champions by dint of a higher goal difference, as the two sides are tied on the head-to-head front.

Group B was a more complicated affair, as Punjab, with the support of the home crowd behind their back, shot ahead of the rest of the pack on the last matchday, beating Karnataka 4-3 in a thrilling encounter. While the hosts topped the group with nine points, both Karnataka and Maharashtra finished with seven points apiece, the latter thrashing Sikkim 5-0 to reach their current tally.

The two sides had drawn their game, and had even finished the group equal on goal difference. However, Karnataka went through as they had scored one goal more in the entire group.