Santosh trophy: Karnataka in quarters

GURGAON, Sept 27: Kutti Mani scripted a brilliant hattrick as Karnataka trounced Nagaland 4-0 in a cluster VI match to romp into the quarter finals of the 61st Santosh Trophy football tournament in here on Wednesday.
Mani put up an awesome display of skill and control to fire in goals in the 35th, 53rd and 74th minute in what turned out to be a totally lop-sided league contest.
The hard-working D Raju chipped in with a goal in the 57th minute to compound the misery for the Nagaland players who found it difficult to ward off the persistant assaults on their citadel.
Karnataka could have won by a much bigger margin had their forwards not frittered away a few more scoring opportunities that came their way.
In a cluster VIII league match in Faridabad, strong contenders Tamil Nadu scraped past Jharkhand 2-1 to move into the quarter finals.
Tamil Nadu shot into the lead three minutes before the interval with Kulothungan finding the target while Justice Antony consolidated the position for the team with a goal in the 74th minute. Lal Mohan scored a consolation goal in injury time for Jharkhand who were guilty of muffing a few chances.
In another cluster VIII league match, Tripura prevailed over Uttaranchal 2-1 in a rather insipid contest.
Kiran Chetri scored the goals for Tripura in the 65th and 76th minute while Rakesh Shah reduced the margin for Uttaranchal in the 83rd minute.
Delhi will take on Tamil Nadu in the next match in Faridabad on Friday while Karnataka clash with Chhastisgarh on the same day in Gurgaon.