Out of contention for a semifinal berth, hosts Odisha ended their campaign in the Final Round of the 76th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy with a 2-2 draw against Karnataka in their fifth and last Group-A match at Capital Football Arena in Bhubaneswar today.

However, the draw helped Karnataka qualify for the semifinals along with Punjab, who sent defending champions Kerala out of the tournament with a 1-1 draw in another crucial Group-A match of the day at OSAP 7th Battalion Ground. The semi-finals would be played at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra wrapped up their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Goa in the first game of the day at the Capital Football Arena. With both teams already knocked out of the competition, this dead rubber was all about pride.

Punjab became Group-A toppers with 11 points, while Karnataka secured the second place with nine points. Odisha finished fifth with five points from as many games. The home team won one match, drew two and lost two.

For Odisha, the result was illustrative of their time in this home tournament. They impressed for large periods but their inability to hold on to a lead proved to be their bane. Today also the same thing happened as they squandered a 2-1 lead and settled for the draw.

Popular defender Prabin Tigga and Chandra Muduli scored the two goals for Odisha in the 21st and 35th minutes. But Karnataka fought back from behind and restored parity with Shajan Franklin scoring their second goal in the 50th minute. Karnataka, however, were first to take the lead with M Sunil Kumar netting the first goal of the match in the 17th minute.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Odisha defender Prabin Tigga and Karnataka forward Ankith P (10) battle for the ball during their Santosh Trophy match in Bhubaneswar on 19 February 2023.