Host Odisha rode on a brace by Prabin Tigga to pulverize Pondicherry 5-0 in their second Group-V match of the 76th Senior Men National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at Capital High School Ground in Bhubaneswar today.

This was the second straight win for Odisha who had mauled Andaman & Nicobar 7-0 in their opening match at the same venue earlier on December 24. Dinabandhu Das gave Odisha the lead, bulging the Pondicherry net in the 28th minute.

Mid-fielder Tigga made it 2-0, converting a penalty kick into goal in the 52nd minute. He netted his second goal in the 68th minute as Odisha led 3-0. Pondicherry suffered another setback in the 75th minute due to a self goal by their defender Rajesh Kanna G. Substitute Rahul Mukhi scored the fifth and last goal for Odisha in the 85th minute.

In two other Group-V matches of the day, Sikkim beat Andaman & Nicobar 3-1 at OSAP 7th Battalion Ground and Meghalaya edged past Telangana 1-0 Capital High School Ground. Odisha will next meet Telangana on Decembe 28.
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PHOTO: Odisha forward Dinabandhu Das scores the first goal in their Santosh Trophy match against Pondicherry in Bhubaneswar on 26 December 2022.