Puducherry blanked Karnataka 4-0 in a South Zone leg league fixture of the 21st senior National women’s football championship at JJ CET here on Monday. It was Puducherry’s second win in as many matches.
Minutes into the match, Puducherry had already begun its search for the goal. However, its moves were thwarted by the Karnataka defence initially.
A lovely pass by Pradeepa found Indumathi, who put Puducherry ahead in the 15th minute. Puducherry kept up the pressure, making some threatening moves and attempting a few long rangers. A shot from Thenmozhi from just outside the penalty box rebounded off the post to Pradeepa, who made it 2-0.
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Sandhiya scored off a cross from Amsavalli in the 40th to increase the lead. Puducherry women kept the momentum going in the second session with Amsavalli netting in the 48th. Karnataka made very few attempts to score in either half and ended up on the losing side.
In another match, Kerala got the better of Telangana 5-2. Athulya and Nikhila scored within the first half hour to give Kerala a 2-0 lead.
Telangana pulled one back when Laxmi scored off a rebound from a Shirisha free-kick that hit the post. However, Subhitha Poovatta struck twice in a span of 10 minutes to give Kerala a 4-1 advantage at halftime.
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Shirisha reduced the margin through a brilliant free-kick in the 87th. Nikhila netted again in the very next minute as Kerala registered an easy win.
On Wednesday Telangana will meet Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka takes on Kerala.
The results: League: Kerala 5 (Athulya 12, Nikhila 27 & 88, Subhitha Poovatta 35 & 45) bt Telangana 2 (Laxmi 31, Shirisha 87). Puducherry 4 (Indumathi 15, Pradeepa 31, Sandhiya 40, Amsavalli 48) bt Karnataka 0.