Chennai, June 06 2009: Tamil Nadu rode on a superb hattrick by Muthu to storm into the semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over Manipur at the 63rd Santosh Trophy football tournament on Saturday. For Manipur, the lone scorer was Mutum Bijen Singh, who netted one in the 55th minute with a long-range shot.

Although Manipur and Tamil Nadu ended the group stage tied on four points but a better goal average helped the hosts advance to the last-four stage.

West bengal sealed the other semifinal berth from the group defeating Punjab 2-1 later in the evening.

host Tamil nadu rarely gave any opening, except once when they allowed Manipur to reduce the margin in the second half.

The quartet of Riju, Kulothungan, Muthu and Mohan Raj were up to their task upfront.

Tamil Nadu strikers were coordinated in their attack and were backed by a solid defence.

Manipur did fight back in the second half but the effort proved too little too late.

Muthu's first goal came in the 28th minute through a spot kick when Manipur's Thomas Singh handled the ball preventing Riju from taking a shot at the goal.

In the space of two minutes, Muthu slotted in a brace of goals.

In the 34th minute, Muthu intercepted Thomas Singh's back pass and dragged goalkeeper Lokeshwar Singh out before slotting one in.

In the next minute, Muthu's wriggled out of an off-side trap after intercepting a diagonal pass from Mohan Raj.

Bengal showcased their soccer pedigree by ousting defending champions Punjab 2-1 to join hosts Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals.

Requiring an outright win to qualify, Bengal were yet again served well by Pachau Lalam Puia, the man who earned them a crucial draw with Tamil Nadu with an injury time equalsier, and Saturday he struck the match-winner in the 84th minute.

Earlier, Snehashish Chakraborty had put Bengal ahead in the 33rd minute before Punjab, who needed only a draw to progress to the knockout stage, equalised in the 54th minute through Lahlimthara Mahlima.

The result took Bengal's tally to five points, while Tamil Nadu, who had beaten Manipur 3-1 earlier, finished on four.

Manipur also had four points but ended up third behind the hosts on the basis of their goal difference.

Punjab, with two defeats and a win against Manipur came away with just three points.

Bengal, in quest of their 30th title, the last being in 1999, nearly failed to make the grade Saturday night and never quite looked like securing the win they needed.

Bengal's forwardline, as per their own coach's admission, has been a cause for concern, but they hit the right buttons to wrap up the match.

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