Karnataka ended a 54-year-old title drought in the 76th National Football Championships for the Santosh Trophy when they defeated first-timers Meghalaya 3-2 in a well-fought final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, March 4. The young Karnataka team comprising reserve players from Bengaluru FC and some talented players from clubs from the Bengaluru District Football Association’s Super Division League made history when it won the first Santosh Trophy final to be played on foreign soil.
Karnataka had last won their fourth title as Mysore way back in 1968-69 at Bangalore and had since then reached the final only in 1974-75. They have finished runners-up on five occasions. However, the team coached by Ravi Babu Raju exceeded all expectations and quelled a strong challenge by Meghalaya to claim a memorable victory and a historic title.
M Sunil Kumar (2nd min), Bekey Oram (19th min) and Robin Yadav (44th min) scored the goals for Karnataka while Brolington Warlarpih (7th min) and Sheen Stevenson (60th min) scored for Meghalaya in the game of two halves. Karnataka played a tactically superior game and caught Meghalaya on the wrong foot off counterattacks. They dominated the midfield and though Meghalaya fought back well in the second half, their forwards missed some crucial chances as they fell short.