By Our Hockey Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 10. Day two in the National Junior hockey championship here was no different than the opening day. Goals continued to pour even as teams began consolidating their positions for a place in the last eight, from which stage the competition is expected to sparkle a bit in terms of individual skills and team work.

Brushing aside the inevitable cynicism that surfaces when witnessing mismatched combinations striving to make a match of it, the assessment is better diverted to reading ahead from the results obtained on Saturday at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. Both Karnataka and Border Security Force in Pool D are on level with six points from two matches and meet on Monday the decide the quarterfinalist.

Karnataka, trained by the former Services stalwart midfielder, Poobalan, made Jammu and Kashmir side a difficult combination to overcome. So flippant were the forwards that in the first quarter they frittered away a handful of chances and as many as six penalty corners before Dinesh dodged a couple of defenders to hit the target.

For all the fervour and fluency displayed by Ajay Aiyappa, Dinesh and Sandeep Micheal, and the neat distribution by the pivot, Sonu, the Karnataka attack found finishing a complex exercise. Sandeep Micheal and Dinesh scored once more before half time arrived.

Allowed to play well in the rival area by the indifferent defence, the J and K players managed to build up considerable pressure. The threat to the defence came from the south paw, Mandeep Singh, whose crafty movements flummoxed the defenders. Earlier, Onkar Singh made a few forays although nothing much came off them. For the major part of the second half, J and K held the initiative, even to the point of indulging in a speck of rough play. Harmeet Singh paid the penalty for it with an yellow card suspension.

Just as one reconciled to the fact that Karnataka, wasting penalty corners like a millionaire throwing away pennies, came three goals in a space of five minutes. But that surfaced only after Manjeet Singh slotted a goal for J & K. Sandeep Micheal broke the monotony for Karnataka flicking a push and Ajay Aiyappa followed immediately. It was left to the gangling Sonu to complete the tally.

BSF, the rival now for Karnataka in the pool, overwhelmed the hapless Assam 14-0 after leading 9-0 at half time. Pardeep Singh led the assault for BSF slotting as many as six goals, along with Mandeep Singh (2), Prabhjit Singh (2), Ranjit Singh, Karambir Singh, Mukhjinder Singh and Raj Singh.

Karnataka has a tally of 20 against one (plus 19) in two matches while BSF's aggregate comes to 19 and one against (plus 18). A draw is enough for Karnataka to make the grade while BSF needs an outright win.

Services began its sorties facing minor resistance from Andhra Pradesh after leading 3-0 at half-time. Sosan Topno, Raj Naryan and Xalxo scored in the first half. But Andhra showing rare pluck and fortitude hit back, reduced the margin to the narrowest limit. Two quick goals by Harsha Vardhan and Sekhar Babu gave Services the scare but before the end Xalxo struck again. In the final minutes Ajay Kumar put the issue beyond doubt.

With Pondicherry not putting an appearance it is taken for granted that the team has withdrawn. With Andhra losing both the matches, the field is open now for Punjab and Sind Bank and Services to fight it for tomorrow for a place in the last eight.