National Football Championship: Odisha had an easy outing on the opening day of Group F qualifiers in the 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy when they defeated Madhya Pradesh 6-1 at the GNDU Sports Complex here on Thursday. The winners led 4-0 at halftime. Group F has three teams, the third team being Chhattisgarh.
Odisha took an early grip on the match as they opened the scoring in the 11th minute when a cross from the right was tapped in by Arbin Lakra. The winners increased the lead in the 26th minute after striker Roshan Panna spectacularly weaved through a host of defenders to beat goalkeeper Salamuddin Khan.
Two more goals came in the first half. After Jitu Muduli slammed in a cross from the right by Arbin Lakra in the 37th minute, Kartik Hantal scored the fourth goal during the add-on time of the first half.
