RIYADH, (Saudi Arabia), March 2: Karnataka made their maiden entry into the Santosh Trophy final in five decades with a brilliant 3-1 win against strong contenders Services in the 76th National Football Championships at the King Fahd International Stadium in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, March 1.
Services, who last won the title in 2018-19 and have won the title four times since 2010, were the favourites to win the match as Karnataka has not crossed the semifinals stage in four attempts recently.
However, the team from South, which had won their last title in 1968-69 as Mysore State, fought back brilliantly after going a goal down and registered a memorable come-from-behind win .
This sealed them a summit clash with first-timers Meghalaya.
Services went ahead in the 40th minute but Karnataka scored twice within four minutes and took a 2-1 lead at half-time. With Services losing steam in the second half, Karnataka scored one more goal late in the match to set themselves up for a historic title. (IANS)
