Asif's injury-time goal break Goa's heart against Kerala in Santosh Trophy [Watch Highlights]

Ravish Narvekar

Kerala's Hrishi Dhath was lucky to escape without a red card as the midfielder was first booked in the 9th minute while referee Shantan Agarwal again showed him a yellow card in the added minutes of the first session but the match official forgot to give him the marching orders.

Asif OM came off the bench to break the hearts of the Goans as his injury-time goal helped the defending champions Kerala to script an entertaining 3-2 win over Goa in the opening match of the 76th Senior National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2022-23 played at Capital Football Arena, Odisha on Friday morning.

First half penalty goal from Nijo Gilbert (27') and an early second-half strike by Riswan Ali (57') had put the defending champions into the comfortable lead. However, the Goans refused to give up and came back into the match with the help of Mahammed Faheez's (60'P & 73') second-half brace.

The defending champions were the dominant side in the first quarter of the match where they made numerous raids on the Goan side. In one of them, Nijo Gilbert danced his way past a few opponents to enter the rivals' box and went for glory but Goa's custodian Hansel Coelho rescued his side with a breathtaking save.

After probing attacks, the real chance came into Kerala's way in the 27th minute when Goan defender Shallum Pires brought down Kerala midfielder Riswan Ali inside the box. Referee Shantan Agarwal without any hesitation quickly pointed towards the penalty spot where Gilbert made no mistake to shoot past Goan keeper Hansel from the spot to put his side ahead.

Goans who were completely dominated by the rivals, had a chance to level back in the 42nd minute when Nickson Castanha sent a long freekick to Shallum Pires near the frame but the lad failed to connect his header from close with just opponent keeper Midhun V at his stake.

However, the Western Coastal side showed the urgency to find the equalizer from the start of the second session and almost found the net within two minutes of the resumption. Lloyd Cardozo made a short pass to Mahammed Faheez in the box but Kerala defender Ameen Palakkathodi made a timely interception. The ball once again rolled to Lloyd who went for glory from just inside the box but Kerala keeper Midhun came with a brilliant save to push the ball for a corner. Three minutes more and Lloyd had another chance to bring back Goa on a level as Harsh Patre found him with a smart header pass where the forward easily cut past a Kerala defender and try to find the net from outside the box but rival's last line easily blocked his weak strike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvTFeptZFJc

[Watch Highlights] Goa vs Kerala, Santosh Trophy 2022-23 Final Round

At the other end, Kerala's Riswan smoothly dribbled past Goan defender Clive Miranda and Kirtikesh Gadekar in the box and chose to look at the goal but his fierce and goalbound shot was excellently pushed for a corner by Goan keeper Hansel.

However, Hansel's mistake in the 57th minute helped Kerala to extend their lead. Gilbert sent a short corner to Naresh B who made a brilliant footwork to beat Goa's Lloyd and sent a fine cross in the box where the Goan custodian made an error to collect the ball. The spilt ball from the Goan keeper's hand was easily tapped in by unmarked Riswan to make it 2-0.

Goans refused to give up and came out all-attacking and finally got the best chance to reduce the margin in the 59th minute when Faheez who was darting in the box was brought down by Kerala defender Ameen. Referee Shantan consulted the assistant referee before pointing towards the penalty spot. Faheez himself took the responsibility and sent the rival keeper Midhun the wrong way from the spot making it 2-1.

Goan coach Norberto Gonsalves brought in fresh-legged Delton Colaco and Akeraj Martins to replace exhausted Trijoy Dias and Lloyd to bring sharpness to their attacks. And the change in strategy was quickly reflected in their performance.

Unlike the first session, the Goans were completely dominating over the defending champions with back-to-back attacks and finally, they managed to make it all square in the 73rd minute. In a team goal, Faheez initiated the move with a short pass to Akeraj in the box who released it to an unmarked Delton. The substitute midfielder set up Kirtikesh with a through pass in the 6-yard box where he nicely cut it back at the far post. Faheez who was completely unmarked made an easy tap-in from the hand-shaking distance to make it 2-2.

Energized by an equaliser, Goans tried to keep the ball at their feet and made a few raids on the rivals' cathedral only to see it denied by Kerala's compact defending.

With time running out, it was almost certain that both sides will share the spoils but the opening match of the Senior National Football Championship 2022-23 had a different ending. A fine curling cross by Kerala's substitute defender Sachu Siby was smartly headed in by another substitute Asif OM to break the hearts of the Goans in the added minutes of the match.

Match Highlights by: FANCODE