Captain Jijo Joseph led by example as the midfielder scored a hat-trick to help Kerala record a 5-0 win over Rajasthan in their opening game of the 75th National Football Championship Final Santosh Trophy at Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri on Saturday.
Malappuram football fans did not disappoint as a crowd of 30,000 turned out to see Kerala off to a winning start in Group A.
The boisterous Kerala fans only had to wait six minutes for the breakthrough as Jijo dished the net straight from a free kick to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Kerala were up front all the time but Rajasthan had a rare opportunity in the 30th minute when Youraj Singh found space inside the box to shoot wide.
Bino George’s men doubled the advantage in the 39th minute when Nijo Gilbert, star of Kerala in the South Zone qualifiers, scored from the edge of the box. Jijo scored his second after the break after being played through on goal by Mohammed Shaheef and beating Rajasthan goalkeeper Maninder Singh in the 57th minute.
The Kerala State Electricity Board midfielder scored his hat trick in the 62nd minute with an easy tap-in before defender Ajay Alex sealed the victory with nine minutes to play.
West Bengal Punjab
In the tournament curtain-raiser held earlier in the day, record-breaking champions West Bengal edged eight-time champions Punjab 1-0 at Kottappadi Stadium in Malappuram.
It was a neck and neck battle between the two most successful sides in the competition’s history, but a 61st-minute Shubham Bhowmick goal gave Bengal all three points ahead of their clash against hosts Kerala on Monday.
In Sunday’s Group B fixtures, Odisha will take on Karnataka in Malappuram while Manipur will take on defending champions Services in Manjeri.
Malappuram football fans did not disappoint as a crowd of 30,000 turned out to see Kerala off to a winning start in Group A.
The boisterous Kerala fans only had to wait six minutes for the breakthrough as Jijo dished the net straight from a free kick to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Kerala were up front all the time but Rajasthan had a rare opportunity in the 30th minute when Youraj Singh found space inside the box to shoot wide.
Bino George’s men doubled the advantage in the 39th minute when Nijo Gilbert, star of Kerala in the South Zone qualifiers, scored from the edge of the box. Jijo scored his second after the break after being played through on goal by Mohammed Shaheef and beating Rajasthan goalkeeper Maninder Singh in the 57th minute.
The Kerala State Electricity Board midfielder scored his hat trick in the 62nd minute with an easy tap-in before defender Ajay Alex sealed the victory with nine minutes to play.
West Bengal Punjab
In the tournament curtain-raiser held earlier in the day, record-breaking champions West Bengal edged eight-time champions Punjab 1-0 at Kottappadi Stadium in Malappuram.
It was a neck and neck battle between the two most successful sides in the competition’s history, but a 61st-minute Shubham Bhowmick goal gave Bengal all three points ahead of their clash against hosts Kerala on Monday.
In Sunday’s Group B fixtures, Odisha will take on Karnataka in Malappuram while Manipur will take on defending champions Services in Manjeri.
