Santosh Trophy: Kerala stay perfect with third win

Kerala maintained their perfect run in Group B with a 2-0 win over Odisha, cementing their position at the top of the Group B table with nine points from three matches in the final round of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at Deccan Arena on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Kerala maintained their perfect run in Group B with a 2-0 win over Odisha, cementing their position at the top of the Group B table with nine points from three matches in the final round of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at Deccan Arena on Thursday.

Meghalaya earned their first victory in the final round, defeating Delhi 2-0 to climb to third place with four points. Muhammad Ajsal opened the scoring for Kerala in the 41st minute, and Naseeb Rahman doubled the lead in the 54th minute. The loss left Odisha with just one win from three games, slipping them to fourth place in Group B.

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Last year’s runners-up, Meghalaya, finally found their rhythm as Donlad Diengdoh struck twice in quick succession early in the second half. Donlad netted the first goal in the 49th minute and followed up with another four minutes later. This was Delhi’s first loss, but they remain second in the standings with six points, while Meghalaya moved up to third place.

Results: Odisha 0 lost to Kerala 2 (Muhammad Ajsal 41’, Naseeb Rahman 54’); Meghalaya 2 (Donlad Diengdoh 49’, 51’) beat Delhi 0.