Reigning champions Karnataka and Chandigarh qualified for the quarterfinal league of the National Junior Football Championship for Dr B C Roy Trophy here on Wednesday.
Meghalaya held in-form Karnataka to a goalless draw at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) in Salt Lake to see both the teams top cluster I with seven points.However, Karnataka edged out Meghalaya on a better goal difference to make the cut from cluster I.
In another cluster I match, Chhatisgarh rode on a solitary goal by Ashish Gota in the 60th minute to pip Rajasthan 1-0 at the East Bengal ground.From cluster III, Chandigarh qualified after edging out Mizoram on goal difference after both the teams had failed to find the net in their match at YBK.
In another match, Kerala registered their first victory, a 3-0 win over 10-man Gujarat at Mohun Bagan ground but it came little late as both the teams made an exit with Chandigarh making the cut from their cluster.
Ajmal Ali VT gave Kerala the lead in the 19th minute while Jude James made the scoreline 2-0 in the 33rd minute as Gujarat's forward lacked steam. Gujarat's misery compounded when their captain Rameez Shaikh was sent off in the injury time of first-half.
Kerala completed the rout with Akhil K Joseph scoring in the 66th minute.
The Under-19 age group tournament has 28 teams and they are divided into seven clusters in the preliminary round.The cluster champions and one best performing runners-up side would make the quarters.
The eight quarterfinalists will then be divided into two groups with two teams from each group progressing to the semifinal knock-out stage.The semifinals will be held on June 24 and 25 with the final on June 27.This is for the first time Kolkata is hosting the tournament. It was previously held only once in West Bengal when Midnapore hosted in the 1995-96 season.