Nagpur: Hosts Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu by a solitary goal in the semi-final to book a summit clash with defending champions Services in the 70th National Championship for the Santosh Trophy at the SEC Railway Stadium here on Friday.
After a barren first half, Tamil Nadu defender Prem Kumar deflected the ball into his own net as he tried to intercept a Shakti Singh cross from the right. Maharashtra were even reduced to 10-men in injury time of the second half but eventually it didn’t matter.
Playing with a young team whose average age was around 23, Maharashtra were the better team for most of the proceedings, even though Tamil Nadu also had their chances.
Services beat Goa
In the other semi-final on Friday, a dominant Services beat Goa 1-0 after extra time to book a spot in the final.
The match should have been settled long back had Services capitalised on their chances but perseverance eventually paid off in the 115th minute when in a desperate attempt to clear, Mohammed Ali kicked it into his own net.
The extra-time was enforced after both the teams were deadlocked after regulation time. (With agency inputs)