Bhubaneswar: After trailing 4-1 in a thrilling match, Kerala pulled off a thrilling draw against Maharashtra. All four goals of Maharashtra were scored in the first half. Kerala paid back all the debts of the first half in the second half and got the draw that the players deserved.
Visakh Mohanan, Nijo Gilbert, Arjun V and John Paul Jose scored for Kerala. Sufian Sheikh scored two goals for Maharashtra while Patil and Sumit Bhandari scored one goal each.
With this, Kerala’s semi-final chances are in the balance with one win, one loss and one draw. Now there are two matches left for Kerala. Odisha and Punjab are now Kerala’s rivals. Winning these matches alone is not enough, the current champions Kerala will have to depend on other matches as well. Kerala is now fourth in the group.
Maharashtra, who needed a win to keep their semi-final hopes alive, played aggressively from the start. Maharashtra took the lead in the 17th minute through Sufian Sheikh. The goal was scored due to the failure of Kerala’s defense. Kerala’s defense failed to clear the ball that came up inside the box. Sufiyan made the goalkeeper Mithun a spectator and took aim. (Score 1-0).
Immediately after, Maharashtra captain Himanshu Patil’s goal in the 20th minute. Himanshu took advantage of Kerala defense’s mistake and scored the goal from the pass of Sufiyan who scored the first goal. (Score 2-0)
Kerala’s Nijo Gilbert had a good chance in the 28th minute but failed to score. Maharashtra scored again in the 35th minute to shock Kerala. Sumit Rajendrasingh Bhandari scored the goal. The player brought the ball to the target with a stunning finish. (Score 3-0)
Within three minutes, Kerala hit back through Visakh Mohanan. The goal was scored in the 38th minute. The pass given by Mohammad Salim was accurately netted and Vishakh got the first goal and self-confidence for Kerala. (Score 3-1)
But putting Kerala under pressure again, in the 42nd minute, Sufiyan shook Kerala’s net again. Sufiyan, who got the ball through the mistake of Asif, who came as a substitute, easily hit the net. (Score 4-1). At the end of the first half, Kerala trailed 4-1.
Kerala started attacking in the second half. Kerala’s second goal was scored through a penalty in the 65th minute. Nijo Gilbert kicked. The ball was easily smashed into the left corner of the net. (Score 4-2).
After two goals, Kerala attacked and scored the third goal. Substitute Arjun V scored the third goal for Kerala in the 71st minute. Arjun’s smashing grounder from outside the box went into the top right corner of the post and turned out to be the best goal of the tournament. (Score 4-3).
With this, the competition reached its climax. Kerala played aggressively and scored the fourth goal in the 77th minute. John Paul Jose netted for Kerala. With this, Kerala returned to the competition strong. The goal came from playmaker Nijo Gilbert’s pass. (Score 4-4)
All Maharashtra team members came forward arguing that Kerala’s fourth goal was offside. Due to this, the game had to be stopped for 12 minutes. But the referee did not accept the arguments of the Maharashtra players and allowed the goal to Kerala.
The referee allowed extra time for 15 minutes. Kerala and Maharashtra played aggressively for victory but could not score a single goal. Maharashtra’s semi-final hopes are almost over with this draw.
