Kerala won the Group A by 10 points from four matches, including three wins and a draw. Meghalaya, who got off to a roaring start by beating Rajasthan in the first match and Bengal in the second, drew with Meghalaya in the last match. With this, today’s match against Punjab was decisive. Kerala won the toss and elected to field. After losing the match, Punjab lost the semi-final.
FULL-TIME!
And that’s the end of the game tonight. It’s Kerala who walks away with all the 3️⃣ points against Punjab today ????????
PUN 1️⃣-2️⃣ KER
???? https://t.co/UI1EsMxOkS
✍️ https://t.co/z8j8CV4sr5#PUNKER ⚔️ #HeroSantoshTrophy ???? #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/DBEAaQkNvI— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 22, 2022
Kerala came into the match against Punjab with two changes in the squad that drew against Meghalaya. Nijo Gilbert was replaced by Salman and Mohammad Safnad was replaced by Shigil in the starting XI. Punjab made three changes from the team that played in the last match.
The match started with the attack of Kerala. Punjab got their first chance in the 10th minute after resisting Kerala’s attack from the start. Punjab striker Indraveer Singh, who got the ball from an error by the Kerala defense, tried to hit the ball but the ball bounced off the body of the defender. But then Punjab took the lead in the 12th minute and silenced Payyanad Stadium.
Manveer Singh took advantage of a defensive error to put Punjab ahead. Manveer hit the ball from the right wing through a defensive error and aimed at the goal post. Manveer’s shot was saved by Kerala goalkeeper Mithun but it turned into a goal.
Kerala woke up after conceding a goal. After a series of attacks, Kerala finally drew level with Punjab in the 17th minute. Arjun Jayaraj beautifully lifted the ball from the left wing to the box and the goal was scored by captain Jijo Joseph through a header. Jijoy’s only job was to jump on the ball raised by Arjun and hit his head. In the 22nd minute, Manveer again shook the net for Punjab but the referee called offside.
Both teams made progress but the goal was just too far away. In the first half, both teams scored one goal each and drew. Kerala made the first move in the second half. In the 46th minute, Vignesh received a through ball from Shik and hit the post but was blocked by the keeper. Punjab got a chance in the counter-attack but Hajman, who came on as a substitute for Mithun, thwarted Punjab’s efforts. Later both teams made advances and tried to find the winning goal but it did not happen. Finally, in the 86th minute, Kerala scored the second goal through Jijo Joseph and the winning goal of the match. In the pass box given by Sanju from the left wing, captain Jijo Joseph, who was behind the Punjab defense, received it in the chest and then diverted it to the goal. Jijo scored his fifth goal of the tournament.
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