73rd Santosh Trophy final round

Karnataka is in Group B along with Assam, Maharastra, Punkab, and Sikkim. Group A consist of Odisha, Goa, Delhi, Services, and Meghalaya. 

Final round games are played at Guru Nanak Stadium, ludhiana, punjab from 8th to 21st April 2019. Two matches are played each day – one in the morning, 8:30 am and the other one in the evening 4 pm.   

• 8:30 AM, 09/04/19: Karnataka 2 (Manvir Singh-30’, Nikhil Raj-90+2’) Vs Maharashtra 2 (Rohan Shukla-16’, Sanket Salokhe-54’) 
• 8:30 AM, 11/04/19: Karnataka 2 (Vignesh-66', Namgyal Bhutia-84') Vs Sikkim 0 
• 8:30 AM, 15/04/19 Karnataka 5 (Biswa Darjee-16, Naorem Roshan Singh-18, 23', Vignesh Gunashekar-25, Magesh-31') Vs Assam 1 (Bishnu Bordoloi) 
• 8:30 AM, 17/04/19 Karnataka Vs Punjab 

73rd Santosh Trophy zonals from Feb 3 in Neyveli, Vignesh to lead state again

Karnataka team will be travelling to Neyveli, TN to play the South Zone qualifying round of Santosh Trophy, the national football championship for the 2018-19 season. This will be the 73rd edition of the senior national championship. The qualifying matches will be played between February 3 to 8.  

Impressed by their performance in the previous edition, selectors retained faith, and appointed Vignesh Gunashekar captain and Sunil Kumar vice-captain. Karnataka had a remarkable run last year, not before losing to host Bengal in semi final.  

Karnataka is placed in Group A along with Andhra Pradesh and host Tamil Nadu. Group B consists of Kerala, Telengana, Services, and Pondicherry. 


Fixture

• February 5, 2019: Karnataka 5 (Leone Augustine, Sunil Kumar, Manvir Singh, Safeel PP, M Nikhil Raj) Vs Andhra Pradesh 0  
• February 7, 2019: Karnataka Vs Tami Nadu 

Team  
Jayanth Kumar (GK), Mohammed Shahanas, Namgyal Bhutia (U-21), Prasanth Kalinga, Sunil Kumar (Vice Captain), John Peter, Shafeel PP, Ashik AS, Biswa Kr Darjee (U-21), Vignesh Gunashekar (Captain), Shelton Paul D (U-21), Sukesh Leon, Edwin Rossario, Lethaolen Khongsai (U-21), Anirudh Krishna Das, M Nikhil Raj (U-21), Leon Augustine, Manvir Singh, Kaviarsan K, Naorem Roshan Singh

Officials
Head Coach – D Manivannan
Asst. Coach – Gopal 
Goal Keeping Coach - Prem Kumar
Manager - Dr Anthony S L

Santosh Trophy: Karnataka edge Odisha 2-1

AIFF Media 

Karnataka beat Odisha 2-1 to knock them out of the ongoing 72^nd Santosh Trophy 2017-18 in a Group B fixture at the Rabindra Sarabar Stadium on Saturday (March 24, 2018). Leon Augustine and Rajesh S scored in the 27^th and 88^th minute respectively to help their side register a second consecutive win in the tournament. Skipper Arjun Nayak scored the only goal for Odisha in the 30^th minute.

It was a must-win game for the Eastern state in order to remain in the hunt for a semi-final spot after their 5-0 drubbing against Mizoram. They also began the match on a positive note as their first shot on target by Bikash Padhihary was kept out by Karnataka custodian Shainkhan CP in the 9^th minute.

Thereafter, Karnataka created quite a few chances in front of the Odisha goal but failed to find the back of the net. The deadlock was finally broken in the 27^th minute when winger Leon Augustine ran almost 30 yards down the middle and slotted the ball home. He went past four defenders to score a brilliant solo goal.

Odisha could have equalised at the half-hour mark when Sunil Sardar was one on one with the Karnataka custodian but he failed to convert a simple header.

Just when it seemed Karnataka would take the lead into half-time, Narendra Sahoo’s men came back into the match thanks to a goal from skipper Arjun Nayak. Kartika Bhola floated a corner inside the box which was headed in by Nayak.

After an entertaining first half, both the sides took a pragmatic approach and concentrated on solidifying their defensive organisation. Karnataka came close to score on a couple of occasions but failed to create an impact in the attacking third.

Odisha’s Arbin Lakra on the other hand missed a golden one on one opportunity to put his team in front in the 81^st minute.

Rajesh S then scored the winning goal for the Southern state in the 88^th minute. Gunashekar Vignesh entered the Odisha box from the left side and squared the ball for Rajesh. The striker pushed the ball into an empty net to seal crucial three points for his side.

Odisha are out of the semi-final race after falling to their third successive defeat. Karnataka, on the other hand, are second in the group and are very much in contention for a last-four spot.