Santosh Trophy: Karnataka seal dramatic semis date with Kerala

Karnataka notched up an emphatic 4-0 win over Gujarat to set up a semifinal clash against hosts Kerala in the 75th Santosh Trophy on Monday. On the final day's league matches, Odisha needed just a draw to confirm their semi-final berth but they were at their profligate best and lost out to former champions Services 0-2 in the afternoon match, to give Karnataka a breather. The math, leading into this final group B stage game was simple: Karnataka needed to win by a minimum three-goal margin.

Karnataka took on the challenge and produced an extraordinary first-half with their forward Sudheer Kotikela (12', 29') and Kamalesh P (28') virtually sealing their chance inside the first half-an-hour. Magesh Silva (60') then completed the rout to ensure their passage to the last-four where they will have a tough test against hosts Kerala on April 28. Record 32 times champions Bengal will take on Manipur in the other semi-final on April 29.

For the first 30 minutes, Gujarat were barely allowed to breathe as Karnataka made a wave of attacks on their rival's goal. They finally took the lead off a half cleared corner when Kotikela found himself with the ball at the edge of the box before curling the ball towards the top right corner. Kamalesh collected a square pass from D Arun Kumar at the edge of the Gujarat area, switched feet, cutting past Harshil Parekh and Muhammed Sagar Ali to make a perfect finish.

Within a minute, they got their crucial third when Prashanth Kalinga ran into space on the right, and curled a superb cross in Karnataka's box. Sandwiched by two defenders, Kotikela sent a first-time finish into the net. Right on the hour mark, a cross from D Arun Kumar on the left, dropped the ball perfectly for Magesh Selva to