Kerala's Dominant Victory over Gujarat in Santosh Trophy Football Match

2023-10-11 06:54:44

Benolim ∙ Kerala beat Gujarat in the first match of Santosh Trophy preliminary round. Kerala defeated Gujarat by 3 unanswered goals in the match held at the Benolim Sports Authority of Goa ground. Akbar Siddique scored a brace and skipper Nijo Gilbert scored a goal for Kerala who put up a good performance.

Akbar’s goals were in the 12th minute and 33rd minute of the match. With Nijo scoring in the 36th minute, Kerala took a 3-0 lead in the first half. Kerala tried to play defensively in the second half. As the attacks were reduced, it became impossible for Gujarat to advance.

Gujarat started today for the second match of the first round. In the first match, they beat Jammu and Kashmir 2-1. But Kerala has shown progress that will completely destroy their confidence. The dynamism of the youngsters in the team combined with the tactics of coach Sathivan Balan saw Kerala overcome the Gujarat barrier with ease.

The Kerala team headed by Nijo Gilbert, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram Poowar, came out today with the aim of making up for the sadness of missing out on the semi-finals last time. Kerala is in Group A in the preliminary group stage. Other teams in Group A are Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. Kerala’s next match is against Jammu and Kashmir in the preliminary round at 9 am on the 13th.

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