Inspired by the presence of Indian captain Baichung Bhutia on the team bench, Sikkim scored a superb 4-3 win over Orissa in a preliminary league match in the Santosh Trophy even as Punjab went on a goal scoring spree in the second half to beat Chhattisgarh 5-0.
In other matches on Friday, Meghalaya rallied from two goals down to beat Tripura 5-2, Karnataka beat Haryana 1-0 and Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh drew 1-1.
Sikkim scored in the last minute to pip Orissa when right winger Awashes Subba ran through two defenders before unleashing a right footer from the top of the box for the winner in a fast-paced Cluster VII match at the Chattrasal stadium.
The goal also nullified the hat-trick by Orissa's Saroj Das, who was instrumental in bringing his team back into the match twice.
Nilanchan Deman (45th and 75th min) scored a brace while under-17 national team captain Ong Tsheing Lepcha completed the tally for Sikkim. Das' strikes came in the 31st, 69th and 81st minutes.
The Sikkim team, with an average age of 20, took some time to find their feet against their vastly experienced opponents and almost conceded a goal in the 17th minute when defender Lezang Lepcha fumbled and handed the ball on the six yard box to Orissa striker Nipendra Das. However, Das failed to beat the goalkeeper.
Orissa then went ahead in the 31st minute on a counter and looked poised to go into the breather with a 1-0 lead but for a last minute lapse by their custodian, which was taken full advantage of by Deman.
The second half saw both teams stepping up the tempo and Sikkim took the lead twice only for Das to restore parity but Subba, who came in for Thempden Bhutia in the second half, ensured that the team did not drop a point. Pondicherry is the other team in the cluster.
In a Cluster VI match at the same venue, Karnataka beat Haryana 1-0, thanks to their skipper Xavier Vijay Kumar who struck in the 66th minute.
The final scoreline, however, failed to reveal the sheer dominance of Karnataka, who were denied a much bigger victory by Haryana goalkeeper Mukesh Patwal and the luck as atleast three long rangers rebounded off the goalpost.
Punjab woke up in the second half to outplay Chhattisgarh 5-0 in a Cluster V match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex.
Chhattisgarh held the favourites goalless at the break but they caved in after the break with Punjab skipper Gurjit Singh Atwal opening the scoring at the hour mark.
But Chhattisgarh again defended doggedly for the next 23 minutes before Baldeep Singh doubled the lead.
The second goal took the fight out of the Chhattisgarh boys who conceded three more goals before the final whistle.
Substitute Manjit Singh scored twice in the 40th and 41st minute and Parveen Kumar completed the rout in the last minute.
In the end, it was a satisfying result for the former champions, mostly comprising players from the JCT Mills club.
Punjab, forced to play in the qualifying round, are looking to make amends for their lapses in the last edition of the tournament held in Manipur. Punjab now has to tackle two north-eastern teams -- Meghalaya and Tripura to qualify for the quarter-final league.
The match began on an even note with Chhattisgarh preventing their fancied rivals from gaining the upperhand. Punjab went close to taking the lead in the 18th minute and again in the 27th minute when Sukhjinder Singh tested rival goalkeeper Partha Dey with a long ranger.
But the Chhattisgarh defence manned by Santosh Kumar, Binay Dutta and Milan Dey absorbed all the pressure from the rival forwards to keep a clean slate at the break.
In the tussle between neighbouring states Tripura and Meghalaya, Tripura was sitting pretty following a double strike by striker Swapan Rai in the 4th and 24th minute.
The first goal resulted from a penalty which was awarded after Meghalaya defender Sam Kharbhih handled the ball inside the box.
The second goal also resulted from a set piece when Rai beat rival goalkeeper Anthony Nonakhlaw with a curving free kick from just outside the box.
As Tripura relaxed a bit waiting for the halftime whistle, Edmund Kharkongor pulled one back for Meghalaya seconds before the break.
After changing ends, Meghalaya slowly piled on the pressure and their efforts bore fruit when striker William Kmwi slipped past the defenders to equal the score at 2-2 in the 62nd minute.
The equaliser clearly rattled the Tripura players as Meghalaya scored three more goals.
Roding Sangma (64th minute) made it 3-2; Edmund found his second goal in the 79th and Aiboklang Kharpran completed the tally three minutes from the end.
Results:
(JNS Complex:)
Cluster VI - Rajasthan 1 (Ashfaq Qureshi - 8th minute) drew Himachal Pradesh 1 (Ravinder Thakur, 53rd).
Cluster V - Meghalaya 5 (Edmund Kharkongkor 45, 79; William Kmwi 62; Roding Sangma 64; Aiboklang Kharpran 87) bt Tripura (Swapan Rai 4, 24).
Cluster V - Punjab 5 (Gurjit Singh Atwal 60; Baldeep Singh 83, Manjit Singh 85, 86; Parveen Kumar 90) bt Chhattisgarh 0.
(Chhatrasal Stadium)
Cluster VII - Sikkim 4 (Nilanchan Deman 45, 75; Ong Tsheing Lepcha 55; Awashes Subba 90) bt Orissa 3 (Saroj Das 31, 69, 81).
Cluster VI - Karnataka 1 (Xavier Vijay Kumar 66) bt Haryana 0.
