The Hindu : Sport / Football : Karnataka mauls Pondicherry

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Monday, May 30, 2005

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Sport - Football

Karnataka mauls Pondicherry

Sports Reporter

TIRUCHI: As expected, favourite Karnataka bagged full points with a facile 7-0 win over Pondicherry in the inaugural match of the South Zone National under-21 football championship at St. Joseph's College HSS here on Sunday.

Arivind did the star turn scoring four goals, inclusive of a hat-trick.

Karnataka, after a brief flourish, fell into the bad habit of complacency, despite the fact that goals kept coming regularly.

Pondicherry's inept display was partly responsible for Karnataka compiling a big victory.

Striker Arivind was quick and effective whenever he unleashed a shot or two.

He showed good opportunism when he opened the account for Karnataka.

Nicely collecting the ball from C.R. Jayakumar from the centre in the 15th minute, Arivind took it past custodian Harry Benny and slotted it home. Off a rebound from Benny's hands, Arivind scored the second goal within minutes.

Speed and alacrity

Arivind showed speed and alacrity while scoring the next two goals (42nd and 60th minutes).

Sanath Kumar (45th, 80th) and Thamarai Selvam (72nd) scored the other goals.

Pondicherry could not utilise the chances that came its way. Karnataka, too, frittered away several scoring opportunities.

Meanwhile, the speculation about Andhra Pradesh's arrival was laid to rest when the team landed here on Sunday evening.

Monday's match: Kerala vs. AP.

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