Kerala spoiled an early lead as they played out a 1-1 draw with Meghalaya in the 77th Santosh Trophy National Football Tournament at Golden Jubilee Stadium, Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. The draw also handed last year’s runners-up Meghalaya their first point in the final round of the tournament.
After Naresh Bhagyanathan had given Kerala a fourth-minute lead, the rest of the contest was all about a desperate Meghalaya side going all out for an equalizer.
They were rewarded with a penalty in the 77th minute and Sheen Stevenson Sohktung converted it in the second attempt.
After three games, Kerala are now third in group A with four points. Meghalaya remain at the bottom with one point.
Soon after the start, Kerala took the lead through Naresh. Riswanali Edakkavil lifted a perfectly weighted ball forward for Naresh, who didn't have to break his stride and toed it past goalkeeper Siwel Rymbai into the bottom corner.
The second half saw Meghalaya pushing men forward. Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh’s side were guilty of missing some clear cut opportunities after the break.
However, the equalizer arrived in the 77th minute after Sarath KP brought down Sohktung in the box. Sohktung’s penalty was first saved by Kerala goalkeeper Mohammed Azhar with his right palm, but the Meghalaya forward was the quickest for the rebound and slammed it home.
Meanwhile, in another match, Goa continued their fine form as they beat Services 2-1 and moved to the top of the table.
Services created more pressure for most of the game but it was Lloyd Cardozo who broke the deadlock for Goa in the 70th minute with a clean header from Jobern Cardozo’s cross.
Substitute Joshua D’Silva then made sure that his side got the full points after he went down in the box and converted a penalty in the 89th minute. For Services, P Christopher scored the consolation goal in added-on time (90+1).
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