At the Deccan Arena on Thursday, West Bengal defeated Odisha 3-1 to go to the semifinals of the 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2024-25.

Rakesh Oram gave Odisha the lead in the 25th minute, giving them a strong start to the match. Narohari Shrestha gave Bengal the lead at the interval, then Robi Hansda (70′) and replacement Manotos Maji (90+2′) added two more goals to get them into the semi-finals for the 52nd time.

Hansda moved farther down the goalscoring statistics after scoring his ninth goal of the season.

The one difficulty that record winners West Bengal did not anticipate from this matchup, against a squad that had barely made it to the knockout stages, was dealing with adversity.

However, Rakesh Oram’s goal in the 25th minute gave the underdogs a surprise lead when Bikash Kumar Sahoo headed off a corner, making them the second side this season to get past the Bengal defense in the Santosh Trophy.

Sanjoy Sen’s team had been in control of the game, and it was not only shocking but also eye-opening. To their credit, they continued to play the same style after the goal was scored. When seasoned forward Shrestha leveled the score with a solid right-footer in the last minute of the first half, Odisha’s luck finally ran out.

Even though it was anticipated that the leveler would alter the tone of the match, Odisha refused to back down and created many half-chances in the first half.

For their part, West Bengal wasted the ball a lot, particularly in the latter third. To give them the lead, their primary guy, Hansda, had to be at his best. In the 77th minute, the striker scored his ninth goal in an incredible San-tosh Trophy season. Shreshta headed it down for him, and he delivered a measured half-volley with a left foot from the top of the box. A discouraged Odisha made every effort to rejoin the match, but West Bengal had already adapted and was keeping them at bay.

Deep in injury time, Maji scored a third goal off a counterattack to secure the victory and guarantee that West Bengal’s pursuit of the thirty-third championship would continue.