Sikkim and Karnataka brightened their chances of entering the quarter final round with convincing 3-0 and 4-0 victories over Uttar Pradesh and Haryana respectively, while Tripura humbled Gujarat 4-1, Punjab downed Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland came back from, a goal down to split points with Delhi in the LG Santosh Trophy matches today.

Bihar defeated Andhra Pradesh 1-0 in another match of the day. Nagaland played the last few minutes of the cluster VI match at ESU ground one man less after referee gave the marching order to Yanger in the 89th minute after collecting second the yellow card in the match.

The match began with Delhi strike dou of Rishi Kapoor and Devesh Kaushik testing the opponent goalkeeper Zuthungo with long but well directed shots. Despite standing up to the challenge on most occasions the custodian missed in reading the line of one such attempt, when it mattered most, in the last minute of the half. Rajesh Arya unleashed a stinging drive from the top that gave no chance to Zuthungo. Amit Sharma provided the cross from the right flank.

While the first session yielded only one yellow card - Nagaland's Kenei Makhro - the referee reached for the pocket as many as four times including the red shown to the Nagaland defender, in the second. Nagaland's Vizakie, and Delhi's Pardeep Kumar and Devesh Kaushik invited the wrath of the referee for unsporting behaviour. Nagaland fared better after the changeover and were able to penetrate into the rival territory on numerious occasion but found the tall Delhi defenders hard nut to crack.

When everything seemed a lost cause for Nagaland after the sent-off in the last minute, Vizo Peseyie scored the much needed equaliser during injury time to keep the team's hope alive for a place in the last eight stage. He pounched on to a rebound from the Delhi goal tender, following a 30 yard attempt by substitute M Francis, to prod home.

Punjab defeated Madhya Pradesh with a 34th minute goal by Gurjit Singh Atwal to collect three points from their cluster III clash against Madhya Pradesh at the same ground.

Karnataka, with better team coordination, dominated the cluster VII tie at THAU ground and troubled the opponent custodian with "strong drives from the top. Karnataka's Jagadish Kumar goofed up a well directed cross from the right by Jitesh CK heading out with only the Haryana keeper to beat in the 19th minute of play.

With sticky ground condition restricting players of both sides from playing to their full potentials, the exchanges were mostly confined at the midfield. The first Karnataka goal, near the half hour mark, came through Dayananda SK who squeezed in between the Haryana goalie and the right post from a narrow angle after a through pass by Murali S.

With halftime nearing its end, Pradeep BV's grounder from the left missed the target by the proverbial whisker denying Kama its second goal. Karnataka further tightened its grip on the match after the break and outplayed Haryana in every department.

Karnataka defenders also put up a spirited display tackling effectively and cutting short most Haryana offences to shield their custodian. Gregory Clarke, who replaced Pradeep twenty eight minutes into the second session made his presence felt increasing the lead two minutes later. The move started from the right flank with Jagadish Kumar placing the ball into the path of a darting Dayananda. The latter made a low cross into the goal area where a deft deflection from Gregory, went in with the rival custodian rooted to the ground.

With today's win Karnataka collected six points from two matches having defeated Tripura in its first match of the championship. Earlier in the same group clash between Tripura and Gujarat, the former redeemed some pride scripting a convincing 4-1 win. Swapan Rai nodded home a Premjit Singh Barua cross from the left to put Tripura ahead in the 10th minute.

With the remaining session confined to the midfield and marked by inept display, action took shape at the sideline with the fourth referee giving a stern warning to Gujarat coach and manager for the unruly behaviour by a reserve player. When match resumed after the interval, Tripura eased to a 2-0 lead with a Laxman Debnath goal three minutes into play. Tripura missed another scoring opportunity when Gujarat goalkeeper George Mathew flung to his left to punch out a powerful kick from the edge of the box by Premjit Barau minutes later.

However, teammate Swapan Rai made amends booting home a Prosanjit Singh Barua freekick from the right in the 57th minute. Gujarat managed to pull back one goal eleven minutes later when Ranjit Sisodiya capitalized on a fumble by Tripura goal tender Sushital Chakraborty after a harmless Radhanandan cross from the right flank. Tripura put the match out of Gujarat's reach slotting home the fourth with only three minutes remaining. Sandip Das essayed a low cross from the left flank for Premjit Barua to bang in and collect maximum points.

In the cluster VI match at Mapal Kangjeibung, Sikkim, despite the absence of star striker and India captain Bhaichung Bhutia notched up an easy 3-0 win against Uttar Pradesh. The win also sounded the dead knell for the opponent who lost their second consecutive match in the tourney. KC Dadul muffed a golden chance to take the lead early in the match shooting straight at the keeper. Relying on 2-4-4 formation against 3-3-4 employed by UP, Sikkim had the match well under its control from the very first whistle even though the opening goal eluded them till the 34th minute.

Making a solo run down the right flank, Milan Lepcha closed in to put the ball at the far post. Sikkim struck again in the 45th minute through Ram Rai off a rebound from the UP custodian. Ram Rai netted his second goal in the 90th minute from close. Bihar downed Andhra Pradesh by a solitary second half goal at the same venue in the cluster V tie.

A throw in from the left reached Rajesh Kumar. Essaying the ball to second half substitute Shailendra Prasad, the latter found an unmarked Suresh Kalandi inside the penalty area. Suresh took a spin quickly to slot home the winning goal in the 58th minute. Andhra players also had their share of chances to level the score but delay and lack of direction by the strikers put to waste set-pieces by the midfielders. Andhra also bowed out of the tournament.