Sheen Sohktung’s spectacular winner in injury time helped newcomer Meghalaya edge past former champion Punjab 2-1 in the first semifinal of the 76th National championship for the Santosh Trophy, at the King Fahd International Stadium here on Wednesday.
The northeastern side will now take on Karnataka in the final. Karnataka dished out a nice essay of attacking football to outplay a strong Services 3-1 in the second semifinal.
Karnataka reached the finals of the Santosh Trophy after a break of 46 years.
Services went in the lead late in the 40th minute through a Bikash Thapa goal but Karnataka rebounded quickly in the 42nd minute when Robin Yadav swerved home a delectable free-kick.
Karnataka took the lead in first-half injury-time when Ankith P. finished a nice counter-attack. Karnataka sealed the match in the 77th minute when Robin Yadav essayed a long throw that saw the ball landing deep inside the Services box.
The home defenders scurried to defend and ended up heading the ball further towards the goal. Substitute wing-back M. Sunil Kumar charged up through the far end to volley home.
Meanwhile, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced in the Santosh Trophy for the first time with the host, Saudi Arabia Football Federation, providing the technolgy.
“We will soon introduce the technology in our domestic tournaments like ISL. The VAR is a costly proposition but I am sure the technological brains of our country can be employed to find a cost effective solution for us,” AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said during an interaction.
The results: Punjab 1 (Parmjit Singh 16) lost to Meghalaya 2 (Figo Syndai 37, Sheen Sohktung 90+1); Services 1 (Bikash Thapa 40) lost to Karnataka 3 (Robin Yadav 42, Ankith P. 45+1, Sunil Kumar 77).
