Odisha stunned former champions Goa 2-0 while Delhi continued their winning run in the final round group B matches of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Rahul Mukhi (60th minute) and Kartik Hantal (64th) struck in the second half as Odisha bounced back from their previous match defeat against Delhi.
After a goal-less first half, Odisha pulled up their socks after the restart against Goa. Forward Mukhi, who was played through behind the Goa defence, entered the box and launched a low shot into the bottom corner to put Odisha in the lead at the hour mark.
Goa, the five-time Santosh Trophy champions, were shell-shocked, and Odisha capitalised on that to make it 2-0 just four minutes later.
Put in charge of a close range free-kick, Hantal accurately placed the ball in the top corner, giving his side a two-goal cushion.
With the win, Odisha hauled themselves up from the bottom to the third spot.
With two 0-2 defeats from two matches, Goa remain the only team in Group B to have not scored a single point thus far.
In the other match, Delhi beat Tamil Nadu with an identical 2-0 scoreline to remain atop the Group B table with six points from two matches.
Bhaaranyu Bansal (7th) and Ashish Shaw (65th) were the goal-scorers as Delhi extended their winning streak in the tournament to five matches.
Delhi got off to a swift start, gaining the lead in the 7th minute itself, as Bansal produced a sublime left-footed volley into the bottom corner.
After the hour mark, Shaw capitalised on a miscued clearance to head it in from close range, doubling his side's lead.
Tamil Nadu remained at fifth in Group B with a solitary point from their two matches so far.
