West Bengal thrash Odisha to enter Santosh Trophy semifinals

Odisha had a bright start to the game, with Rakesh Oram scoring the opening goal in the 25th minute, heading in a corner from Bikash Kumar Sahoo

Hyderabad: West Bengal beat Odisha 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2024-25 at the Deccan Arena on Thursday.

Odisha had a bright start to the game, with Rakesh Oram scoring the opening goal in the 25th minute, heading in a corner from Bikash Kumar Sahoo. However, Bengal equalised at the stroke of halftime through Narohari Shrestha.

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In the second half, Bengal took the lead through Robi Hansda in the 70th minute, his ninth goal of the campaign. Substitute Manotos Maji’s injury-time goal (90+2’) sealed the win, sending Bengal into the semifinals for the 52nd time.

Results: West Bengal 3 (Naro Hari Shrestha 45+2’, Robi Hansda 77’, Manotos Maji 90+2’) bt Odisha 1 (Rakesh Oram 25’).