Santosh Trophy Qualfiers 2019: Madhya Pradesh trounce Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Madhya Pradesh topped the group with a big win.

Madhya Pradesh scored two goals in each half, as they beat Dadra & Nagar Haveli by a commanding 4-0 margin in the Santosh Trophy West Zone Qualifiers 2019 group B match on Monday afternoon.

Madhya Pradesh had three open chances in the first 20 minutes, but first, Rishabh Rajak shot wide from close with just the keeper to beat. A few minutes later, Sahil Rajak had a similar opportunity to take his side into the lead, but the lad produced an aimless strike. Rishab had another opportunity to put his side ahead in the 20th minute, when a low cross from H Rama Swamy kept him with just the keeper to beat, but the midfielder shot over the crossbar.

After missing out on a few easy chances, Madhya Pradesh finally surged ahead in the 32nd minute, when Swamy found Sahil with a long cross and the midfielder selflessly setup Bikram Sarkar in the goalmouth. Sarkar, later made no mistake to shoot past Dadra keeper Pulkit Singh making it 1-0 for his side.

Madhya Pradesh doubled their lead in the very next minute, as Yash Lal produced a brilliant through-pass to Deepak Ahirwar, who smartly finished the ball in the net to make it 2-0.

At the other end, Dadra and Nagar Haveli came close to scoring with just few seconds to the half-time whistle, as their forward Kuldeep Vartha went for glory from distance, but Madhya Pradesh keeper Mohammed Faiyaz made a diving effort to keep his side safe.

On crossing over, Madhya Pradesh wasted three more close chances, as Sahil and Bikram saw their strikes easily collected by Dadra keeper Singh, while Swamy shot over the crossbar from close range.

Madhya Pradesh added two more goals in added-time through their substitutes. First, Melvin Shaji shot past keeper Singh from inside the box, while a long ranger from Akash Thapa hit the post before settling in the net to make it 4-0.