Bhubaneswar: Kerala beat Odisha by one goal in Santosh Trophy Football. Kerala scored a goal in the form of a penalty in the crucial match. With this, Kerala has reached the third position in the group with 7 points. The top two in the group will qualify for the semi-finals. Kerala’s next match is against Punjab, who are the first in the group.

Since victory was inevitable for both sides, Kerala and Odisha played aggressively from the first minute. The penalty came from Kerala’s first corner in the 16th minute. Vaishakh Mohanan headed the ball from the corner back into the box, but the Odisha player Chandra Mohan Murmu took it into the hands – a hand ball. The referee awarded a penalty. Nijo Gilbert took the penalty and scored easily. (Score 1-0). This is Nijo’s third goal in the final round.

Odisha’s attack, Kerala’s defence:

Once the goal was scored, Odisha continued to play aggressively. All of Odisha’s goal chances were thwarted by Kerala’s defence. Kerala defense has shown a good performance. Except scoring a goal, there was no significant progress from Kerala in the first half. In the second half, instead of attacking, Kerala put out a defensive performance in which they won. Odisha tried their best but failed to score. Odisha’s semi-final chances ended with this defeat.

Kerala’s semi-final chances.

The top two in the group are Punjab with 10 points and Karnataka with 8 points. Kerala has only 7 points. The rest is a game for everyone.

If Karnataka loses or draws against Odisha and Kerala beats Punjab, Kerala can play in the semi-finals.

“or”

If Karnataka beats Odisha, Kerala can secure the semis by beating Punjab with a good goal difference. This time the semi-final and final matches will be held in Saudi Arabia.