Kolkata, July 31 (IANS) Services rallied back from their previous match defeat to register a 2-1 win over Karnataka in their Santosh Trophy soccer competition Group A quarter final league match here Saturday.
M. Dileep and Saji D’Silva scored for the winners, while J. Karthigeyan reduced the margin for the southern state at the sparsely filled Salt Lake stadium.
In the other group A quarter final, defending champions Goa blanked Punjab 3-0. Cavin Lobo scored a brace while Branco Cardozo found the target once for the Goans.
Dominating right from the outset, Services enjoyed possession but failed to create positive chances in the first half. They upped the ante post-breather, and broke the deadlock in the 54th minute as Dileep home a Z Gordon freekick.
Karnataka equalised in the 70th minute as Karthigeyan netted with a left-footer.
Services, however, had the last laugh. In the 76th minute, D’Silva collected a defence-splitting through pass from S. Raleng and drove home with the right footer.
After losing their league opener opposite Punjab, Services needed to get the better of Karnataka to stay in contention for a semi final slot.
It is now all but over for Karnataka in this edition of the inter-state meet, and they would be playing for pride in the last game against Punjab Monday.
