The stage was set for Tamil Nadu. They had to beat Punjab and claim the semifinal tickets. And they did just that as striker A Raegan bagged a brilliant hat-trick to power his side past the eight-time champions in a Santosh Trophy match at the Kanchenjunga Stadium on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Bengal were held 1-1 by Railways, which meant that Tamil Nadu’s fate were in their own hands. Before any action on Monday, all teams in Group B had a mathematical chance of qualifying. With two wins and a defeat and a match remaining, TN have made sure they are progressing.
Raegan’s treble could not have been possible without the help of skipper P Sudhakar who was involved in all the goals in the 3-2 win. The creative midfielder continued to impress with his ability to hold the ball and supply defense-splitting passes. Sarbjit Singh and Harpreet Singh scored for Punjab.
High in spirits after their fighting victory against Goa, Tamil Nadu started from where they had left. Raegan gave them the lead in the eighth minute after Sudhakar pierced a perfect through ball to find the former.
The eight-time champions were chasing shadows as the duo continued to march around the park. S Karthik and L Anandraj were also mixing well with the duo. Punjab were playing well in patches with Harpreet Singh and Gurtej Singh getting the odd chances but they never managed a clear look on goal.
After the change of ends, Punjab got the equaliser in the 52nd minute following a brilliant spell of play. Sarbjit rose above the defenders after a corner and headed the ball past goalkeeper A Arun Pradeep. Tamil Nadu had hardly recovered when Harpreet slammed in a left-footer five minutes later to put Punjab ahead.
Tamil Nadu responded brilliantly. Sudhakar and Raegan got in the act again as the latter equalised in the 64th minute. Sudhakar broke free in the middle to gallop past the defenders in the penalty box. He then rounded-off an oncoming goalkeeper and took a shot which was blocked on the line by a defender. The rebound fell kindly for Ragaen, who slammed it past everyone. There was more delight for Raegan & Co two minutes later as the striker raced past the defenders to clinch his hat-trick, and most importantly, a crucial victory. The Punjab players were in a shock and never recovered.
“I’m happy with this. I must credit Sudhakar and the whole team. We never lost heart and continued to fight,” hat-trick hero Raegan said.