KOLKATA: Kerala and Assam maintained their winning streak to keep their pre-quarterfinal hopes alive in the 64th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy on Saturday.
In other matches of the day, the Railways brightened their last-16 chances with their second consecutive win, while Mizoram picked their first victory in cluster VIII fixtures.
Kerala drubbed Himachal Pradesh 10-0 at Yuba Bharati Krirangan, while Assam registered a 7-0 win over Uttarakhand at Mohun Bagan ground in the cluster VII matches.
Railways thrashed Orissa 4-0 at Howrah Stadium to take a lead in their cluster with six points. Mizoram recorded their maiden win in style with a 10-0 rout of Bihar at Khardah Stadium. Javed O K struck thrice (14th, 45+1st and 54th minutes), while Rajesh K (15th and 32nd) and Sakeer M P (28th, 70th) struck twice each in Kerala’s hammering of Himachal. Martin John (43rd), Bijesh Ben (55th) and Subair K P (83rd) completed the rout.
Assam’s star striker Akum Ao continued his menacing form with two goals in the 31st and 46th minutes while Jelendra Brahma struck late in the 80th and 84th minutes to lead the rout. Ao had struck six goals in their 10-0 thrashing of Himachal Pradesh earlier. Sisuram C (8th), Ajit Singh (41st) and S Wary (50th) completed the tally for Assam who lead their cluster table on a better goal difference to Kerala.
Assam and Kerala will lock horns on Monday to determine the pre-quarterfinalists. Bijoy Das (20th), S Freedy (27th) and D Nanda Kumar (36th) gave Railways a 3-0 lead at half-time before Suraj Mondal (61st) hit the final nail to dent Orissa’s chances. Railways need a point in their match against Mizoram on Monday to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.
Three Sikkim players tested positive for swine flu
Meanwhile, Sikkim’s Santosh Trophy campaign received a huge blow on Saturday with three of their players tested positive for swine flu. Bikas Jairu, Sanjay Chhetri and Sagar Rai tested positive for the disease after they were admitted at the state-run Infectious Diseases Hospital on Saturday morning with high fever, according to the local manager of the team Somnath Chatterjee.
“The trio along with Robin Gurung were admitted after complaining of high fever and chest congestion. Gurung however was released but doctors have advised at least five-day treatment for the three players as they were tested positive for swine flu,” Chatterjee said. More than 40 people have been affected of the deadly Influenza A (H1N1) virus in the city so far.
