Santosh Trophy 2024-25 Matchday 6 Highlights: West Bengal, Rajasthan Through To Final Round

West Bengal qualified for the final round of the ongoing Santosh Trophy 2024-25 despite playing out a goalless draw against Bihar in their third and final Group C match at the Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani on Wednesday. (Streaming & Guide | More Football News)

In another Group C match at the same venue, Uttar Pradesh defeated Jharkhand 2-1 thanks to Mohammed Tauseef's brace, Rohit Tigga scored in what proved to be a consolation goal for Jharkhand.

With two wins and one draw, the 32-time champions topped the group. Bihar finished with four points ahead of Jharkhand (3) and Uttar Pradesh (3).

Rajasthan have also booked a place in the final round of the ongoing Santosh Trophy tournament with a convincing 4-0 victory over Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in their must-win final group match at Royal FC Stadium, Jaipur on matchday 6.

Group I hosts took the field against DNHDD with four points, one behind Gujarat who had played out a draw with Maharashtra in the morning match. But goals from Altaf Hussain, Vishal Kaloshiya, Imran Khan and Yash Sahani ensured all three points for Rajasthan.

Maharashtra finished with four points while DNHDD ended their campaign without a win.

Also on Wednesday, seven-time champions Kerala opened their group stage campaign with a fighting 1-0 win over Railways at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode. Muhammad Ajsal proved the super-sub for the hosts as he scored the all-important in the 72nd minute.

In another Group H match, Pondicherry beat Lakshadweep 3-2 with two players scoring all five goals -- a hat-trick for Dhilipan K and a brace for Mohammed.

Group A clashes at the GNDU Sports Complex, Amritsar witnessed the second-most successful Santosh Trophy side Punjab suffer a shock 0-1 defeat against Jammu and Kashmir. Adnan Ayub scored the only goal of the match in the 50th minute.

In the other Group A match, Ladakh beat Himachal Pradesh 2-1. Abid Ali (42') gave Ladakh the lead but Harsh Kumar (45+1) equalised for Himachal. Stanzin Jigmet found the winner in the 84th minute.

In the northeast, Nagaland and Meghalaya registered fighting wins against Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, respectively.

Played at Deshbhakta Maidan in Nalbari, S Ayenmongba (6') and Nisede Peseyie (13') struck early for Nagaland against the hosts. Dipu Mirdha scored the spot in the 57th minute to give Assam hope, but Nagaland escaped with all three points.

But Maghalaya lead Group E, on goals scored, following their 4-3 win over Arunachal Pradesh. Overkindness L Mawnai provided Meghalaya early lead with a eighth-minute goal, only to see Arunachal Pradesh make it 3-1 before the hour-mark through goals from Omang Dodum, Tagru James, and Tarh Dolu.

Sloppy defence eventually proved the difference between the two teams as Meghalaya scored three second-half goals, including two penalty conversions by Fullmoon Mukhim (63’, 83’), and Malkovich Khongriah's strike in the 65th minute.

Yesterday, Manipur (Group D) and Tamil Nadu (Group G) booked their spots in the final round. Both teams remained unbeaten in their respective groups.

November 21, 2024 fixture

Group F (Amritsar): Odisha vs Madhya Pradesh (11 am)

The group stage of the Santosh Trophy 2024-25 sees 35 teams divided into nine groups, A to I with four teams except Group F which has three. Each team will play the other once during the group stage and each group winner will advance to the final round.

The final round will feature 12 teams -- nine group stage winners and the three which have been given byes (Goa, Services and Telangana).