U20 men’s football nationals: Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka earn full points on Day 2
Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka won their respective matches, scoring a host of goals in Group C on the second day of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2024 being played at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground here on Saturday.
In the opening match of the day, Uttar Pradesh clinched a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Ladakh. Following the intense opener, Jharkhand succumbed to a 1-3 defeat against Karnataka in the day’s second match.
Uttar Pradesh initiated the day’s scoring in the 6th minute through striker Suhel Khan. Ladakh, one of the new entrants in the Indian football scenario, equalized in the 20th-minute courtesy of Stanzin Tsering, who capitalised on a precise pass from Tsewang Sangdup on the left flank, slotting home a powerful right footer.
Suhel Khan reclaimed the lead for Uttar Pradesh in the 32nd minute with a header off Rupesh Yadav’s cross from the right. The second half witnessed two injury-time goals. Uttar Pradesh secured their third goal in the 90+1 minute, as skipper Amit Yadav calmly converted a spot kick.
In a late surge, Ladakh’s captain Stanzin Norboo found space on the left and unleashed a shot from outside the box in the 90+3 minute to find their second goal, which, however, was not enough to save the day for his team.
In the second match of the day, Jharkhand seized an early lead thanks to Mohammed Faisal Hussain’s strike in the 16th minute. Hussain capitalised on a turnover from Karnataka’s Ishan Raghunanda on the right flank, slotting the ball into an unguarded net.
Karnataka levelled the score in the 38th minute when skipper Allen Dammu’s header missed its mark, but Ishan Raghunanda pounced on the rebound and put the ball into the back of the net.
In the add-on time of the first half, Karnataka’s Premish T. found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper MD Adnan, thus doubling their lead with a shot from the left flank in the 45+3rd minute.
The second half witnessed only one goal, as Karnataka’s Shyam Sundar struck in the 90+4th minute to widen the lead.
