Narainpur, May 19 Punjab booked their place in the semi-finals of the Swami Vivekananda U20 Men’s National Football Championship after edging Tripura 2-1 in a thrilling quarter-final at the RK Ashram Ground 1.
Sahij Pal emerged as the hero for Punjab with a dramatic extra-time winner in a closely-fought encounter between two group winners. Punjab made a bright start and went ahead in the 14th minute when Pal finished clinically to give his side the early advantage.
Tripura, however, refused to back down and gradually grew into the contest. Their persistence paid off in the 66th minute as substitute Arma Jamatia found the equaliser to bring his side back into the game and force extra-time.
With both teams pushing hard for a decisive breakthrough, Pal struck in the first few minutes of extra-time to send Punjab into the last four.
Earlier, Punjab matched Maharashtra's points tally with an emphatic 6-2 win over Assam on Ground 1 at the RKM Ashrama.
They made a roaring start, with Sahij Pal scoring twice in the first five minutes. Although Biliphang Boro had halved the deficit for Assam in the 19th minute, Pal struck again to complete his hat-trick in the 37th minute before Saqlane Sajid scored Punjab's fourth in the 41st.
Assam got a glimmer of hope when Jitul Taye made it 4-2 in the 52nd minute. However, Padma Doley's red card in the 82nd minute dashed those hopes, and Punjab rounded off a big win with two more goals in the 83rd minute via Pal again and Aviraj Singh Kapur in the 87th.
Punjab only need a draw thanks to their superior goal difference, while Maharashtra would require three points.
Tripura stunned two-time champions Delhi in the early kick-off on Ground 1 at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama on Thursday.
Khaswrang Jamatia scored on either side of half-time in the 42nd and 68th minutes to put the North-eastern side two goals ahead. That meant Yash Jalal's 79th-minute strike was a mere consolation.
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