Santosh Trophy: Defending champion Services advances to last eight

Santosh Trophy: Defending champion Services advances to last eight

Defending champion Services advanced to the quarterfinals of the Santosh Trophy national football championship with a 2-0 win over 10-man Rajasthan at Deccan Arena here on Saturday.

This was the third straight win for Services, after the first round loss to Manipur, which got the side to nine points.

Earlier in the day, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) kept its hopes alive with a 3-0 win against host Telangana in a do-or-die match. This defeat also meant the home team was the first to be eliminated.

Rajasthan is fifth in Group A with one point and can qualify for the last eight if it beats Jammu & Kashmir on Monday.

Services made a quick start against Rajasthan as V.G. Sreyas converted a brilliant low cross by Thingnam Bidyasagar Singh from the left with a deft finish in the 20th minute. Rajasthan suffered when its forward Youraj Singh was sent off for two bookings.

It was one-way traffic for the remainder of the match as Services’ second goal was scored when J. Vijay put his individual prowess on display. Picking up a ball from captain Christopher Kamei with his back to the goal, Vijay swiftly blazed past two red shirts to enter the box and tucked his shot away into the bottom-left corner.

In the other match, J&K led at half-time thanks to Hayat Bashir’s fifth-minute opener. Captain Aakif Javaid did the hard work for the first goal, cutting a cross from the by-line with his left foot.

Dimple Bhagat essayed a swinging left-footer in a crowded six-yard box for Arun Nagial to nod it in for his second goal of the final round. Javaid completed the scoreline in the 88th minute with a left-footer from the top of the box.