Karnataka hold Punjab

Formidable Punjab, last year's runner-up, were held to a 2-2 draw by Karnataka in a quarter-final league match of the Air India Express national football championship for Santosh Trophy at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kerala on Sunday morning.

Punjab led 1-0 at half time. The match, which should have been played on Saturday, had to be postponed to this morning, owing to heavy rains.

Taranjit Singh (27th minute) and substitute Yadwinder Singh (71st minute) scored for Punjab, while S Venkatesh (62nd) and substitute Rajendra Prasad (84th) found the target for Karnataka.

Karnataka dominated most of the play in the first session, with the Punjab forwards failing to have a clear look at the rival goal till midway.

Karnataka found their rhythm from the kick-off and were all over a strong Punjab, playing their first match and struggling to find form.

Karnataka could have taken the lead in the fifth minute, but reliable star striker R C Prakash delayed in taking his shot. On another occasion, he drove feebly, straight into the hands of Punjab custodian Karanjit Singh.

Midway through, Punjab forwards Gurpreet Singh and Gyan Moyon ripped apart the Karnataka defence, but lost possession when it mattered the most.

However, Punjab forged ahead through a brilliant long ranger by Taranjit Singh from the left flank, beating Karnataka goalkeeper Gumpe Rime, who could do nothing but merely watch the ball go into the net.

Karnataka maintained the pressure, with captain Venkatesh playing an all-round game and excelling in both midfield and in attack. Venkatesh, who often withdrew to plug the holes on the half-line, came out with some defense splitting passes, which were messed up by the frontline, especially Nandakumar.

Though Karnataka dominated the proceedings and even had quite a few scoring chances, the equaliser somehow eluded them and they ended the session 0-1 down.

Resuming after the breather, the action was mainly confined to midfield, though both the teams occasionally broke through the defense cordons. But the strikers were goal shy, as many of their drives went either wayward or flew over the bar.

Venkatesh, burdened with his duties both upfront and in the middle, proved to be the danger man in the Karnataka attack and deservedly got the equaliser by booting the ball home to the left of Karanjit Singh in the 62nd minute.

Meanwhile, Punjab stepped up the pace and made a more determined effort for the lead. After Gurpreet Singh messed up a chance, Yadwinder Singh, who came in place of an off-colour Surjit Singh, put his team in the lead in the 71st minute, making full use of a through-pass from Gurpreet Singh.

Karnataka were unlucky as Prakash who managed to bang a goal was ruled off-side. But Karnataka kept attacking and the strong Punjab defense wilted under pressure. Substitute Rajendra Prasad came up with the equaliser, deflecting a neat cross from hardworking Xavier Vijayakumar from the left into the net in the 84th minute.