Chennaiyin pip Kickstart to qualify for Stafford Cup semi-finals

The Group D final round matches of Stafford Challenge Cup were interestingly poised. Before taking their opponents today, local favourite Kickstart FC and Chennaiyin FC were equal on points (3), head-to-head (2-2), and goal difference (+1) - their opponents were ARA FC and Kerala United FC respectively. ARA RC too were in contention, they needed to win against Kickstart, which also required Chennaiyin to lose against Kerala United). 

Both games were scheduled on the same time today morning - Kickstart FC Vs ARA FC at the Bangalore Football Stadium and Chennaiyin FC Vs Kerala United FC at the HAL Ground. 

Kickstart FC did convincingly win 3-1 against ARA FC, however their win was not enough compared to Chennaiyin FC’s 9-0 thrashing to Kerala United FC pipping Kickstart to qualify for the semi-finals.

Kickstart rally from two goals down in thrilling 2-2 draw

KSFA Media  

Kickstart FC pulled off another miracle as they came back again from 0-2 down to hold Chennaiyin FC to a 2-2 draw and shoot to the top of group D on the Safford Challenge Cup football tournament at the KSFA Stadium here on Sunday morning. Earlier, Sreenidhi Deccan FC defeated Kenkre FC 2-0 in group C.

In the later part of the day, Delhi FC came back from a goal down to register 2-1 win over Bengaluru FC. With back-to-back win, they seem to be a solid contender for the semi-final spot from Group C. In the final game of the day, ARA FC bouncing back from a defeat in their previous game thrashed Kerala United 5-0. 

A very compact and solid Chennaiyin FC took control of the match early on and even forged ahead in the very 16th  minute of the match.  After a one-two with Solaimalai, Givson Singh lobbed the ball into the box and skipper Senthamil dived forward to head it into the goal past goalkeeper Deepak. 

In trying to curb their attacking intent, Kickstart gave away a freekick to Chennaiyin just outside the box on the left flank. Givson Singh took the award and produced a low curling right footer which settled into the net beyond Deepak’s reach.

But Kickstart came back with some efforts of their own to no avail. In the second half, they changed their combinations and it paid rich dividends. Substitute Muzamiri was a thorn in the Chennai team’s defence and repeatedly broke through. He tacked goalkeeper Devansh Dabas once but failed to fill an untenanted net. However, he provided a fine through pass form Edwin Rosario to slot home a low left footer into the net. Once they had reduced the margin, it was Kickstart all over the opponent defence. In trying to check Muzamiri, stopper Buiswas Yumnan sent the ball rocketing into his own net for an own goal in the 82nd minute.

Both came close to snatching the winner but the defences held firm as they trooped out with a point each. Kickstart top the group with four points with a win and a draw.

Sreenidhi Deccan FC were the dominant lot all along and scored once in each half to emerge winners.

It was Mungong who scored the first goal in the 21st minute pushing home from close following a goalmouth melee. They played relaxed football and made it 2-0 in the 61st as Velmurugan took off on the right and slotted home past custodian Lovepreet Singh. Sreenidhi Deccan also topped group C with four points from one win and a draw while Kenkre have lost both games so far.

Kickstart rally back to win 3-2 against Kerala United in Stafford Challenge Cup

KSFA Media

Kickstart Football Club began their Stafford Challenge Cup campaign in group D with a stunning 3-2 come from behind victory over Kerala United FC here on Friday. In the last game of the day, from Group C, Delhi FC got the better of Kenkre FC 1-0.

Kickstart were down 0-2 in the first half. A lob from Velayudhan was palmed away by goalkeeper Deepak S. but right on to the head of his stopper Rahul who as retreating. The ball struck him on his head and landed inside the net in the 13th minute.

Kerala United made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute when Akmal Shan put away a cross from Muhammed Fasal from close range.

Kickstart came up for the second half full of energy and enthusiasm. They built up a series of attacks and threatened the opponent goal from both flanks. Edwin Rosario went clear of the defence off a through pass from Ryan Wilfred. But he only hit wide. But a goal was imminent, and it duly came in the 55th minute when Edwin Rosario made amends and this time placed home Ryan Wilfred’s lob into the net over the head of the onrushing goalkeeper Mohammed Sinan. But Ryan himself muffed an open chance hitting wide. But in the 61st minute, it was 2-2 when Satish Kumar went in and banged home his left footer.

Once they restored parity, it was 3-2 when Muzamiri Mtanga dashed in and banged home a measured pass from Edwin Rosario. Once they hit the front, Kickstart never looked back and kept their opponents at bay to win and take home three points.

Delhi FC managed to score once and hold on to the lead.  They dominated play but had to wait till the 55th minute for the goal. Khyriem pieced together a fine pass form Gaurav Rawat to bang home a curling left-footer. Earlier, Lalrunzuala muffed a sitter placing ide despite an empty net staring him in the face. Though they attacked often, Kenkre FC did not manage to find the net and the confident Delhi FC held firm to hang on and gain full points.

 

BFC play out 1-1 draw against Sreenidi Deccan, Chennaiyin beat ARA in Stafford Cup

KSFA Media 
Bengaluru FC Media 

Chennaiyin FC, Chennai, became the first team to log full points defeating the ARA FC 1-0 in a Group D match of the Stafford Challenge Cup 2023 football tournament on Friday. In another match in Group C, local hopefuls Bengaluru FC drew with Sreenidhi Deccan FC, Hyderabad, 1-1 after leading by an early goal.

In the first game today morning, Bengaluru FC did well to take the lead in the 15th minute when Harmanpreet Singh rushed in to tap home the ball following a melee inside the box.  Harmanpreet, Thoi Singh, and captain Biswa Darjee combined well to threaten the opponents, but their finishing let them down.

Sreenidhi Deccan worked the ball at a fast clip and looked like finding the equaliser any moment. It did come in the 68th minute when skipper Arunkumar managed to chip the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Lara as the ball landed into the net.

After being on level terms, it was the Deccan side which let BFC off the hook when skipper Biswa Darjee failed to beat Lara in a one to one situation. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Chennaiyin beat ARA 1-0

Keeping up a steady flow of attacks, Chennaiyin Fc carved out the ARA defence and opened up scoring chances, but their finishing let them down. This was evident when their skipper Senthamil failed to fill an untenanted net with goalkeeper Sangramjit Roy Coudhury out of his charge. But he made amends soon after when a lob from Rajat Roy hit the crossbar and rebounded back into play. Senthamil was close on hand to fill the net.

ARA boys tried their best to force the pace and attack from both flanks but the CFC defence did not yield. They were backed well by goalkeeper Mohanraj who rushed out time and again to bring timely saves.

Chennaiyin could have made it 2-0 but midfielder Sharon’s long chip hit the crossbar and rolled out. In the dying moments, substitute Zomuansanga failed to tap home a pass from Senthamil. Though they tried hard, the Ahmedabad boys failed to break the compact opponent defence and crashed to defeat.

Roots, Gokulam share hornors in Stafford Cup, MEG and Dempo game too ends in stalemate

KSFA Media 

The Stafford Challenge Cup kicked off again after 30 years with both games ending in a draw at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

In the inaugural game, Group B's Roots FC of Bengaluru took the lead but were held to 1-1  draw by Gokulam FC, Kerala . In Group A, local challengers MEG went ahead only for Dempo SC, Goa, to equalize in the second half. 

The newly formed Roots FC were a revelation. They played an attacking brand of football and stretched their opponents on both flanks with some astute crosses. The wingers responded well and provided many harrowing moments to the Gokulam defence, but lack of finishing prevented them from scoring in the first half. They were once out of luck when Vignesh’s powerful long ranger hit the post while the goalkeeper was out of position. 

Roots began with a bang in the second half with Vignesh missing an open chance - he placed the ball over the cross bar while aiming the ball into the empty net. However, they forged ahead in the 64th minute when Yohan Victor Britto bulged the net from inside the 6-yard box from the right side.

They fell back on defence as Gokulam came back with some spirited moves to restore parity. They exerted pressure and their efforts bore fruit in the 87th minute when they were awarded a penalty. Roots defence Mohan Bahadur handled the ball inside the area and Referee Anil Gulia pointed to the spot. Substitute Samuel Mensah Konney made no mistake placing it home. 

The two teams then closed shop and were content to go home with a point each.

MEG held by Dempo 

Madras Engineer Group & Centre, Bengaluru, were held to a 1-1 draw by Dempo SC, Goa in the second match of the day. The Sappers were a dominant for most part of the game against the young Dempo side.

They did well to take the lead as well in the 16th minute when their tall stopper Ayush headed home a lob from Imnaakum. They stretched the flanks wide and had more of the ball but did not succeed in extending the lead. MEG also played wide apart and looked a rather tired lot in the second half.

Sensing their chance, Dempo indulged in their short passing game and built several moves. The through passes were struck a bit long and hard. Yet, they managed to come more into the attacking picture. A pile-driver from Shreyash Gajanan Naik was put out at the last minute by MEG goalkeeper Pramod Joshi as he dived low to his right. A lob from Adnold Antonio saw Topon Minj hit wide from close range.

Dempo restored parity in the 86th minute when Arnold’s lob was headed across the goal by Topon and Shreyash Gajanan managed to scramble it home after a goalmouth melee. For the equaliser. There was not much time left for any team to go for the winner and they went home with a point each.

 

Stafford Challenge Cup history

KSFA Media 

One of India's oldest tournaments and South India's oldest, the Staffordshire Regiment presented a huge silver cup to be played on an all-India basis. It was a knock-out tournament named after the regiment and christened as the Stafford Challenge Cup.

The first edition was first conducted in 1938 when Wiltshire Regiment won it and repeated the act the next year as well. In 1941, Bangalore Muslims broke the domination of the British regimental teams by winning it while Bangalore Sporting won it in 1942. But it was in 1943 when there was a bigger surprise as Mysore Rovers emerged as the champions.

From 1944 to 1949, Sullivan Police were the undisputed champions. HAL (1952), Binny Mills (1954), Bangalore Blues (1956), LRDE (1957), Mysore State Police (1958 and 1961), MEG & Centre (1966), CIL (1967 and 1971) are the other Bangalore teams which cornered glory.

Though ITI won major tournaments in India, the Stafford Cup eluded them until they won it in 1993, the last time the tournament was held. 

The tournament got international flavour in 1980, when the Iraqi Youth Club came and conquered the cup and the hearts of football lovers as they beat East Bengal in the final at the overflowing Chinnaswamy Stadium. Iraq Air Force (1982), Students Club, Iraq (1984), Iraq Olympic Team (1990), were the other foreign teams which triumphed. Unfortunately, in 1984 the silverware went to Iraq and was never returned, as it was believed to have been destroyed in the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq.

Dempo (Goa), Orkay Mills (Bombay), Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan (all Calcutta) have also produced some outstanding displays in front of packed galleries with Mohun Bagan not having won it at all in their history. Mohammedan Sporting and East Bengal have shared it once and have won it individually as well.

The Stafford Cup final was a 'must see' event for the sporting fraternity of Bangalore, which turned up in thousands to witness the semi-finals and the final when held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium or the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Iraqi Youth Football Club and ITI in the final of Stafford Cup on April 16, 1980

Stafford Challenge Cup kicks off tomorrow

Stafford Challenge Cup, the once-elite football tournament of South India makes a comeback after three decades tomorrow, Thursday, February 23, 2023. The 12-day long tournament will see 15 teams distributed in 4 groups, with the winner from each group advancing to the knockout round.

With some players just coming off a tough Santosh Trophy pre-final round , most others will be using the event to prepare for the upcoming I-League 2 competition. 

BDFA Super Division teams FC Bengaluru United, Kickstart FC, Bengaluru FC (Reserves), MEG, FC Deccan, Roots FC, ASC will be seen in action. 

Gokulam and Roots open the action at 1.30 pm at the Bangalore Football Stadium while in the second game at 4.00 pm, Dempo Goa will meet MEG.

Group A – FC Bengaluru United, MEG, Dempo FC, Goa, FC Deccan
Group B – Roots FC, ASC, Gokulam Kerala FC 
Group C – Bengaluru FC (Reserves), Kenkre FC Mumbai, Sreenidhi Deccan FC, Delhi FC 
Group D – Kickstart FC, Chennaiyin FC (Reserves), ARA FC, Ahmedabad, Kerala United FC

FIXTURE

Group A

• Feb 23, 4 PM – Dempo FC 1 (Shreyash Gajanan Naik-86') Vs MEG 1 (Ayush-16') 
• Feb 25, 9:30 AM – MEG 2 (Shaik Muzeeb-35', 60') Vs FC Deccan 1 (Sachidananda S-42') 
• Feb 25, 4 PM – FC Bengaluru United 4 (Selwyn Frazer Miranda-6', Irfan Yadwad-33', Subha Ghosh-89', Aenam Graffenberg Jurwa-90'+1') Vs Dempo 0 
• Feb 27, 9:30 AM – FC Bengaluru United 4 (Irfan Yadwad-2', Selwyn Frazier Miranda-27', Subha Ghosh-58', Nikhil Mali-68') Vs MEG 1 (Imnaakum -84'[P])  
• Feb 27, 1:30 PM – Dempo 2 (Vinay Vijay Harji-74', Asmon Mevon Viegas-77') Vs  FC Deccan 0
• Mar 1, 9 AM – FC Bengaluru United 2 (Irfan Yadwad-11', 17') Vs FC Deccan 0 

Group B

• Feb 23, 1:30 PM – Gokulam Kerala FC 1 (Samuel Mensah Konney-87') Vs Roots FC 1 (Yohan Victor Britto-64') 
• Feb 25, 1:30 PM – ASC 3 (Shakti Gurung-15', Ajendra Singh-35', Alwin E-82') Vs Gokulam Kerala FC 2 (Samuel Mansah Konney-14', 24')  
• Feb 27, 4 PM – ASC 2 (Khundongbam Somananda Singh-55', Francis Zonuntluanga-90'+5' [P]) Vs Roots FC 0  

Group C

• Feb 24, 8:15 AM – Bengaluru FC 1 (Harmanpreet Singh-15') Vs Sreenidhi Deccan FC 1 (Kharch Khup Hangzo-68')    
• Feb 24, 4 PM – Delhi FC 1 (Gaurav Rawat-54) Vs Kenkre FC 0   
• Feb 26, 8:15 AM – Sreenidhi Deccan FC 2 (Pauminthang Munsong-21',  VineethKumar Velmurugan-62') Vs Kenkre FC 0   
• Feb 26, 1:30 PM – Delhi FC 2 (Fahd Temuri-90+5', Amay Morajkar-62'[OG]) Vs Bengaluru FC 1 (Leon Augustine-9')  
• Feb 28, 11:55 AM – Kenkre FC 1 (Jay Bhavanani-42'[P]) Vs Bengaluru FC 0  
• Feb 28, 1:30 PM – Delhi FC 3 (Gaurav Rawat-48', Fahad Temuri-74', Ajay Singh-81') Vs Sreenidhi Deccan FC 2 ( Vineeth Kumar Velmurugan-46', Aditya Tomar-87') 

Group D

• Feb 24, 10:45 AM – Chennaiyin FC 1 (Senthamil S -22') Vs ARA FC 0  
• Feb 24, 1:15 PM – Kickstart FC 3 (Edwin Rossorio-55', Sathish Kumar-61', Muzamiri Abdallah MTanga-84') Vs Kerala United FC 2 (Rahul M-12'[OG], Akmal Shan-42')
• Feb 26, 10:55 AM – Kickstart FC 2 (Edwin Rossario-61', Bikash Yumnam-82'[OG]) Vs Chennaiyin FC 2 (Senthamil S-15', Moirongthem Givson Singh-45'+2') 
• Feb 26, 4 PM – ARA FC 5 (Shanid Valan-5', Naro Hari Shrestha-38', Yami Longvoh-45'+3', Fredson Marshall-79' [P], Pratik Swami-87') Vs Kerala United FC 0  
• Feb 28, 8:15 AM (HAL ground) – Chennaiyin FC 9 (Joseph Lalvenhima-22', Niketh N-41', Vipul Velayudhan-45'[OG], Moirangthem Givson Singh-51', Senthamil S-66', 90'+3', Solaimalai R-73', Chris Anthoy White-82', Rahul Manjula-90') Vs Kerala United FC 0 
• Feb 28, 8:15 AM – Kickstart FC 3 (Muzamiri Abdullah MTanga-45'+3'[P], 58', Finto-6') Vs ARA FC 1 (Naro Hari Shrestha-90'+67'[P])  

Semifinals

• Mar 3, 3:30 PM – Chennaiyin FC - Gr D Winner 2 (Givson Singh-18', Sajal Bag-45'+3') Tie-breaker 4 - Sajal Bag, Senthamil Elangbam, Tondon Meitei, Chris Anthoy White Vs Delhi FC - Gr C Winner 2 (Fahad Temuri-67'[P], 90'+2') Penalty 2 - Fahad Temuri, Karndeep Singh 
• Mar 4, 3:30 PM –  FCBU - Group A Winner 3 (Irfan Yadwad-45'[P], 49', 51') Vs ASC - Gr B Winner) 2 (Ajendra Singh-61', Khundongbam Samananda Singh-80')  

Final 

• Mar 6, 4 PM – Chennaiyin FC 1 (Senthamil S -71') Vs FC Bengaluru United 2 (Vinil Poojary-31', Irfan Yadwad-90'+3) 

Karnataka make it through to Santosh Trophy semifinal

pic: AIFF Media 

With three teams - Punjab, Karnataka, and Kerala vying for the semi-final spot from Group A in the 76th Santosh Trophy, Punjab took on Kerala while Karnataka were playing against host Odisha in  their last group game.

Karnataka took the lead from side-back Sunil's opportunistic in the 17th min of the game. Odisha quickly equalized via captain Prabin Tigga's goal, then took lead from Chandra Muduli in 35th minute. 

Half-time score read 2-1 for Odisha. 

Karnataka were quick to make it 2-2 from a Shajan Franklin's beautiful header. Post that the state boys dominated the proceedings but the winning goal eluded them.

Punjab takes the top spot with 11 points (3 win and 2 draw) and with 9 points (2 win and 3 draw), Karnataka came as the second best team from their Group thus qualifying for the semi final, which will be played at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Seven from Bangalore in Services team

While we wait for tomorrow’s final group game against Odisha to see Karnataka moving to the last four of the 76th Santosh Trophy, Services with 10 points (3 wins, one draw) became the first team to secure a place in the semi-final spot be played at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

This year’s Services team got several players from the Garden City who have excelled in BDFA Super Division League for many years –ASC’s Jashandeep Singh, Deepak Singh, Oinam Gautam Singh, Safeel PP and MEG’s Liton Shil and Christopher are seen turning out for Services in the ongoing Santosh Trophy played in Odisha. The head coach Mileswamy Govindaraju Ramachandran too is from Bangalore, coming from the ranks of ASC football team. 

While MEG’s and now a part of the Army Red team, Liton Shil seems to be the most popular, his colleague Christopher too scored regularly for MEG in the league until few seasons back. The ASC players are relatively new in the setup but have made an impression. Shafeel was a part of the Karnataka Santosh Trophy campaign four year back. 

    Standing (from Left) - Jashandeep Singh (1st), Coach MG Ramachandran (6th)
    Kneeling (from Left) - Safeel PP (2nd), Christopher (3rd), Deepak Singh (5th), Oinam Gautam Singh (10th), Liton Shil (12th)  

asasas

Bangalore City FC win B Division League title, Roots FS take second spot

Bangalore City FC’s fine six-match winning run was enough to clinch the BDFA B Division League title and a promotion spot. Though they received a jolt by losing to the league runner up Roots FS in their last game but that didn't come in their way of the league title. 

Goans FC did not turn up for their matches and RS Sports pulled out after playing 6 rounds (loosing all) – both teams are relegated to C Division. As per BDFA League (2022-23) Rules 16, result of matches played against R S Sports stand Null and Void. 

Roots FS took the field against Bangalore City FC’s in their last round game. The equation was simple, an outright win would earn them the second position, ahead of Royals FC and Bangalore Warriors, and a spot in BDFA A Division.

In the game between Roots and Bangalore City, the latter dominated the proceedings, took lead 8-minutes before regulation time. Roots looked anything but winning the game from there.

The drama unfolded in the final 5 minutes of the game, which was primarily the injury time. Roots were awarded a penalty at the beginning of the added time, which went wasted. An own goal by Bangalore City in 70’+4‘ min made the score level. It was left to Roots scoring the winning goal in the last minute thus securing a promotion ticket to the BDFA A Division.  

BDFA B Division will be concluded tomorrow after the following games: Bangalore City FC Vs CIL and Bangalore Warriors Vs Al Fateh FC. 

If Bangalore Warriors wins tomorrow, they will be tied at same points with Roots FS, however the latter would still be above Bangalore Warriors in the points table with a Head-to-Head win (3-2). 

The top two teams in the Points Table, Bangalore City FC and Roots FC, will be playing an exhibition game tomorrow before the prize distribution ceremony.

Karnataka beat Goa 2-0 in Santosh Trophy

AIFF Media 

Karnataka took three points against a hapless Goa side to inch ahead in the battle for Riyadh spots in Group A of the Hero Santosh Trophy today. With today’s 2-0 win, Karnataka lead the Group with 7 points.

Goa had one of the first chances of the game early in the first half, a long range freekick somehow evading everyone before rolling past the post. From there though it was one-way traffic, Karnataka doing enough to get the win and also register a clean sheet, their second of the competition.

Jacob John scored opened the account in 33rd minute, with Abhishek Powar adding another one in early second half. 

Karnataka play their fourth game against Maharashtra on Friday, February 17 at OFA 7th Battalion Ground, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 

 

Karnataka lose to Kerala in final, bags silver in Khelo India

Two goals in a gap of 12 minutes in the later part of first half sealed the gold medal for Kerala in the final of the Khelo India Youth Games played at Emerald Heights School, Indore, Madhya Pradesh today morning. 

Sreeraj CP for Kerala opened the account for his team in the 31st minute of the game and Kiran K scored in 43rd minute. The strikers for Karnataka, who gave team the lead in almost every game failed to score in the final game. time 

Karnataka despite having an impressive outing ends up being the second best in this 8-team tournament. 

Karnataka qualify to the Khelo India final

Karnataka boys after resisting attacks from a strong Punjab team beat 3-2 to reach the final of the Khelo India Youth Games. The keenly contested first semi-final was between group A winner Punjab, coming from an all-win record in the group stage and Karnataka, runner up from the other group. 

Karnataka took the lead and it was Abhishek again up to his goal-scoring exploits, scoring the first goal for his team via penalty in 18th minute. He has scored in every game played so far in KIYG - total of 5 goals in 4 games. 

Punjab pulled back with a strike from the JCT Football Academy student Karandeep Singh Manota. The semi-final was up for some late first-half action - Punjab took 2-1 lead in through Karandeep again in 45 min, while captain Vishal’s goal made the scoreline 2-2 in the added time. 

Ishaan Raghunanda scored the winner after lemon break, sealing the fate of the game and qualifying for the final. 

In the second semi-final, Kerala defeated Meghalaya 5-3. Karnataka will take on Kerala in the final on Friday, February 10 at the same venue.  

Karnataka lose to Meghalaya in Khelo India, advance to semis as group runner-up

Karnataka boys lost to the group winner Meghalaya 2-1 in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games at Indore today morning. With 2 wins and a loss, they qualify as the second placed team to final four. Karnataka will play against Group A winner Punjab, who progressed to semi-final after completing an all-win record in their group. The other semi-final game will be played between Meghalaya (7 pts) and Group A runner-up Kerala (6 pts). 

Karnataka took an early lead in the game, with Abhishek proving his goal scoring mettle, taking his goal-scoring tally to 4 in this edition of Khelo India. Meghalaya restored parity in the 40th minute via Cannyson Kharnaior. After changing ends, Blanangshngain Khongsdam, who came in as a replacement for Fashioning Syngkli in the first half, scored the second goal (68'). 

The semi-final will be played on Wednesday, February 8.

 

Karnataka boys beat Odisha in Khelo India Youth Games, move to semi-final

Karnataka boys notched their second consecutive win in Khelo India Games beating Odisha 3-1 at the Emerald Heights School ground, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. FC Bengaluru United Academy wards Ishaan Raghunanda (21’) and Aditya Kalasur (90’) scored the first and third goal while Abhishek Pawar scored the second goal in the 57th minute of the game. 

In the other Group B game, Bengal and Meghalaya ended in 1-1 draw. Karnataka now top the Group B table with 6 points and move to semi-final round, followed by Meghalaya (4). 

In group A, Punjab made to last four with back-to-back win. The second semis spot in this group will be decided tomorrow between Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala; both teams - with a win and loss are at 3 points. 

Karnataka play their final group game on Monday, February 6, against Meghalaya. 

Vishal to lead Karnataka in Khelo India Youth Games

Vishal R will lead the 20-member Karnataka state football team that will take part in the Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh from February 1-10. Karnataka will take on West Bengal on Feb 2 followed by matches against Odisha (Feb 4) and Meghalaya (Feb 6) in the preliminary round. 

Karnataka managed to send a strong squad comprising of several players plying their trade for clubs in BDFA League league - 7 from Super Division, 2 from A Division, and 3 from B Division. 

Squad: 

Vishal R (captain), Arjun Gowda (vice captain), Karthik S, Soham S Oulkar, KR Shashwath, Prateek Kashyap, Aniketh BP, Tanish Tamanna, Rowan James, Vedanth Singh, Nivruthi, Rayaan Shakeer, Amogh G, R Neil Joseph, Ishaan Raghunanda, Aditya Kalasur, Abhishek S Pawar, Yohan Victor Britto, Allen Dhammu, Gautham Rajesh

Coach: Xavier Vijay Kumar Asst Coach: Alex Praveen 

Final 

• Feb 10, 2023: Kerala 2 (Kiran K-43’, Sreeraj CP-31’) vs Karnataka 0 

Semi Final 

• Feb 6, 2023: Punjab 2 (Karan Singh Manota-36', 45') vs Karnataka 3  (Abhishek SP-18'[P], Vishal R-45'+1', Ishaan Raghunanda-77') 
• Feb 6, 2023: Meghalaya 3 Vs Kerala 5   

Group B 

• Feb 2, 2023: Karnataka 3 (Abhishek Pawar-29', 85', Amogh Ajay Gachhi-39') Vs Bengal 2 (Pritam Biswas-58', Bipradip Mandal-76')
• Feb 4, 2023: Karnataka 3 (Ishaan Raghunanda-21', Abhishek SP-57', Aditya Kalasur-90') Vs Odisha 1 (Wongden Lama-61')
• Feb 6, 2023: Karnataka 1 (Abhishek Pawar-4') Vs Meghalaya 2 (Cannyson Kharnaior-40’, Blanangshngain Khongsdam-68’)