In the playoff for third place on Saturday, Odisha beat AIU(Indian Universities) 4-0. Clearly the better team and with more structure in its game, Odisha was slow off the block while AIU pushed hard and aggressively early on. But the lack of cohesion meant it was restricted to the occasional individual attempt to get the goal which never materialised.
Odisha, on the other hand, built up with precision, opening up both flanks continuously and taking time to settle its midfield. The first two quarters were used to seize the opposition and once that was done, the team simply swamped AIU. Kunjan Topno opened the scoring, lifting the ball gently above three defenders and the goalkeeper into the roof of the goal in the 35th minute, and Dipsan Tirkey made it 2-0, slotting in a rebound after his first shot was blocked by the AIU goalkeeper.
Suddenly, it seemed there were far more Odisha players around than the opposition. AIU brought back some urgency in its game in the final quarter and earned a couple of penalty corners but there was no plan. Odisha got two more to round off its tally and stamp its dominance.