Tamil Nadu rode on the goals scored by Muthu, Riju and Kulothungan to thump Haryana 5-0 here. Meanwhile, in another pre-quarterfinal match at Tiruchirapally, Goa blanked Mizoram 3-0, courtesy Joaquim Abranches (44th) and Marcus Mascarenhas (58th and 63rd) fine display on the field.
As if the pitch side temperature that hit an all time high was not enough, Mizoram appeared to test Goa’s resolve with a series of tackles. It took referee Santosh Kumar (Kerala) nine bookings - six to Mizoram - to restore some sort of order. After the initial hustle-bustle, where everyone seemed to kick anyone, Goa eventually settled down and won a spot kick after Reuben Zosangpuia was caught handling Marcus’ header in the 13th minute.
At Thiruvallore, former champions Manipur beat Railways 3-1, while Maharashtra edged past Kerala by a solitary goal in a close contest in Coimbatore. For Manipur, Reisangi Vashum (40th, 79th) and Subhash Singh (19th) scored while Nalanda Chakraborty reduced the margin in the 80th minute. On the other hand, Maharashtra depended on Kuttimani Sampathkumar’s quick reflexes to score in the 83rd minute.
Tamil Nadu, Goa, Manipur and Maharashtra now join four directly seeded sides - last edition winners Punjab, runners-up Services and two semi-finalists Karnataka and West Bengal - in the last eight league round which begins on Tuesday.
Punjab, West Bengal, Manipur and Tamil Nadu make up the Group A while Services, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa form the Group B. In the quarter-final league matches starting on Tuesday, Manipur takes on Punjab while hosts Tamil Nadu plays West Bengal in their first quarter-final league matches. Next day, Services will lock horns with Maharashtra while Karnataka will meet Goa.