Bengal and Punjab made it to the semi-finals, while title-holders Goa crashed out of the 61st Santosh Trophy national football championship in Gurgaon on Wednesday.
Seasoned striker Dipendu Biswas powered home a 25-yard free-kick to fashion Bengal's 1-0 victory over Punjab while Goa held hosts Haryana 2-2 in the quarter-final Group A matches held during the day.
Bengal, who earned their second victory, finished as group champions, logging six points while Punjab and Goa both culled four points each. However, the North Indian state made the cut because of a better goal difference.
On a day of high drama, Biswas stole the limelight with a curling free kick in the 58th minute that broke the stalemate. The set-piece was awarded after Hardeep Singh unfairly brought down lively Bengal striker Syed Rahim Nabi.
The first clear-cut chance came Bengal's way in the 18th minute when a neat pass from Asim Das found Biswas, whose shot was brilliantly saved by Punjab keeper Kameshwar Singh.
Punjab responded almost immediately when a powerful strike from Daljit Singh went just wide of the post.
Then Baldeep's Singh's shot was palmed away by the custodian before Nabi showed his pace and control to get to the touchline and cross the ball, only for Avinash Thapa to make a weak header.
Most of Punjab's attacks emanated from the right flank with Baldeep Singh and Hardeep Singh Saini being the danger men.
There was a late scare for Bengal but Baldeep Singh shot over with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Earlier, Goa had lady luck to thank, as a late strike from Nicolau Borges enabled them hold Haryana and keep their hopes alive though only till the next match.
Fredy Mascarenhas converted a penalty to put the Goans in the lead but Haryana seized the initiative with goals from Pawan Kumar and Sanjeev Yadav before Borges slotted home a rebound off goalkeeper Novjot Singh in the 89th minute to restore parity.
All the goals came in the second half of the quarter-final league encounter.
The hosts, playing an attacking game, were much the superior outfit on the day and could have won had the woodwork not come in their way twice.
The defending champions were not at their sharpest to begin with but mounted some offensives as the first half wore on, with Fredy Masceranhas and Nicholas Rodrigues forcing good saves from goalkeeper Novjot Singh.
Haryana were unlucky not to take the lead at the half-hour mark when Sanjeev showed good skill just outside the Goan penalty area in evading the attention of three defenders. But his powerful shot came off the crossbar after Goan custodian Luis Barreto was beaten all ends up.
It seemed as if luck had deserted the hosts when in the 42nd minute Parveen Arora received a perfect cut-back from Sanjeev only to find the crossbar with an empty goal before him.
But the Goans were thrown a lifeline just after the hour mark when Pawan Kumar brought down Peter Carvalho inside the penalty area and referee M K Roy had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot. Mascarenhas scored, wrong-footing the keeper.
But the lead lasted only a couple of minutes before Pawan Kumar headed in a Sandeep Malik corner from the left, sending the crowd into a frenzy and prompting a minor ground invasion.
The hosts went ahead in the 75th minute when a neat exchange between Parveen Arora and Devesh resulted in the ball reaching Sanjeev Yadav. His initial shot was blocked but he hammered home the rebound from an acute angle to give Haryana a well-deserved lead.
Goa's plight was highlighted when coach Mauricio Alfonso substituted the ineffective skipper Sameer Naik.
With their crown in danger, the holders threw more men into the attack to keep their campaign alive, and Borges obliged with very little time left.
Lights went out towards the end, forcing play to be stopped for 10 minutes, which added further drama to the surroundings.
