Kolkata, July 18 (IANS) Punjab pipped Nagaland 1-0 to inch closer to a prequarter final slot from cluster III in the Santosh Trophy soccer competition here Sunday.
Balwant Singh struck the all important goal early to bolster his team’s point’s tally to six from two outings. Punjab had spanked Pondicherry 7-0 in their lung-opener.
Balwant, who had scored a brace against Pondicherry, found the target in the ninth minute at the Khardah stadium as Punjab remained atop the points tally from the cluster.
Nagaland attacked with gusto in the rest of the match but the Punujab defenders stood firm.
In two other matches of the day, Pondicherry prevailed over Gujarat 2-1 in another Cluster III engagement while Rajasthan got the better of Jammu and Kashmir 1-0 in cluster IV.
At the Vidyasagar stadium in Barasat, Vinod Kumar and Manikandan netted for Pondicherry while Dipesh Pun was the sole scorer for Gujarat. The two sides were locked 1-1 at halftime.
The Howrah stadium clash between Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir saw the former score a late winner in the 83rd minute through Rahul Gurjar.
