AIFF Media Team

HYDERABAD: Kerala made it three wins in a row, while Meghalaya tasted victory for the first time in the Final Round of the 78th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at the Deccan Arena on Thursday, December 19, 2024.

Kerala, the 2021-22 champions, beat Odisha 2-0 in the first game of the day to maintain their position at the top of Group B with nine points. Meghalaya, runners-up from 2022-23, also defeated Delhi by the same scoreline to move to third place with four points. Delhi suffered their first loss but remained in second spot with six points.

Kerala stay perfectly perched atop Group B

Odisha 0
lost to
Kerala 2 (Muhammad Ajsal 41', Naseeb Rahman 54')

Kerala scored on either side of half-time to register a comfortable win. The first half was a rather even affair with free-flowing football as both teams actively searched for the opener. That arrived in the 40th minute after some exquisite individual skill from Kerala's Muhammad Ajsal, who raced from the half-way line, left two defenders in the lurch and rifled a left-footer into the bottom corner.

Kerala scored again with a rapid turnover in the 54th minute. Odisha lost the ball in the middle of the park and Muhammed Musharaf was quick to turn and release Naseeb Rahman through on goal. Rahman with all his composure swiftly tucked the ball past Siddhanta Padhan in the Odisha goal. The two-goal cushion allowed Kerala to relax and soak the late pressure from Odisha. Ultimately, Odisha couldn't threaten anything in attack and Kerala hung on for their second consecutive clean sheet.

Diengdoh's quickfire brace wins it for Meghalaya

Meghalaya 2 (Donlad Diengdoh 49', 51')
beat
Delhi 0

After a neck-on-neck and goalless first half between Meghalaya and Delhi, Donlad Diengdoh fired Meghalaya into top gear, striking twice in the space of two minutes to leave Delhi stunned. The first one came in the 49th minute as he took full advantage of a rebound after Delhi goalkeeper Raj Kumar Mahato saved a long-range strike. Diengdoh was in the right place at the right time to poke home from close range.

The Delhi defence was then caught napping two minutes later as Diengdoh latched onto a through ball and went around Mahato, who had ventured out to the edge of the box in an attempt to clear the ball. As the Delhi defenders rushed to the goal line, the Meghalaya forward squeezed the ball into the net with precision.

The rest of the match was mostly played in Meghalaya's half as Delhi desperately searched for a way back, which didn't arrive. Defender Rohmingthanga came the closest to finding the net for Delhi twice - first with a header off a Sonam Tsewang Lhokham free-kick, then with a half-volley from outside the box. However, Meghalaya goalkeeper Siwel Rymbai saved it on both occasions.