Santosh Trophy: Delhi a point away from prequarters slot

KOLKATA - Delhi inched closer to a prequarter final berth with a 2-0 triumph over Uttar Pradesh in the 64th Santosh Trophy inter-state football competition here Saturday.

Uttar Pradesh now lead cluster V with six points from two outings. The Kharda stadium contest saw Delhi go all out in the second session after a fruitless first half.

Tuishim Mashangva put Delhi into the lead at the stroke of an hour before Bhuvan Joshi doubled the margin in the 78th minute. Delhi now lead only a draw against Madhya Pradesh in their last match to march into the round of 16.

Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, got past Arunachal Pradesh 3-1 at the Howrah stadium to keep their chances alive in the tournament. Neelesh Pillai drew first blood for the winners before Javed Manihar struck twice while Rallo Raj Kumar was the lone scorer for Arunachal.

Chattishgarh pulled off a big upset with a 1-0 win over Sikkim in a cluster VI encounter at the Mohun Bagan ground. Sikkim’s Engphohong Subba failed convert a penalty in the 28th minute, and immediately Chattisgarh struck with Wasim Raja finding the target after

Subir Maji did the spadework.