Defending champions Punjab scored a solitary goal win against Tamil Nadu in the quarter final league match of the 63rd National football championship for Santosh Trophy, Nehru Stadium, Chennai, on Thursday.
The match started with Punjab outfit dominating but failing to convert the chances that came their way. Tamil Nadu took their time to settle down and slowly they started taking the control of the game. In the 17th minute Muthu shot at the near post but Punjab custodian Karanjit Singh managed to keep it away as the shot was not powerful enough from inside the box.
Three minutes later Riju got a pass from Kulothungan just outside the box but his powerful left footer was punched by Karanjit Singh to find Jegan but Jegan’s shot was not on target.
As the match progressed Punjab too had their chance. In the 30th minute Punjab had a chance as Baldeep Singh shot had Sathish Kumar fumbling but an alert Kali Alaudeen cleared the ball. A minute later Rakesh Masih cross from right flank was headed well by Rohit but the ball was off target.
Tamil Nadu had better chances to score as they got four corners in the first half but they failed to find the back of the net on all the occasions as the match entered into the lemon break with score card reading 0-0.
The start of the second half had Tamil Nadu completely outshining the defending champions. In the 51st minute Riju shot had Karanjit Singh jumping and punching it over the bar.
Hosts got two chances in a span of two minutes but they wasted both the opportunities. In the 61st minute Muthu tapped the ball from outside the box and his shot at the far post was nowhere near the target. A minute later Pradeep cross had Kulothungan heading it far from the net.
Six minutes later Muthu had the best chance of the match as he had to beat Karanjit Singh but the Punjab custodian was alert enough to punch it to safety.
But it was finally Punjab who drew the first and last blood as in the 73rd minute Satish Kumar tackled P Mahlima inside the box and referee immediately awarded Punjab a penalty. Jagpreet Singh took the spot kick to beat Sathish Kumar and give his team a 1-0 lead.
Tamil Nadu had no one but themselves to be blamed for the defeat as they missed out on the opportunities that came their way to give Punjab three points.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 4 June 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.