Santosh Trophy: Gritty Meghalaya hold Kerala 2-2 in a thriller at Malappuram

Meghalaya goalkeeper Frolicson Dkhar effected a brilliant save from close range in the 90th minute to deny Kerala a late winner as it ended 2-2 in the Santosh Trophy at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri, Malappuram here on Wednesday.

Substitute Shighil had thought it was in as he arrived in the box to side-foot a pull back. But, Frolicson was well positioned and brave enough to spread his body and foil the attempt.

The visitors defended deep in the five added minutes and walked away with a precious point.

Kerala had went into the match needing a win to confirm their spot in the semifinals. But after the draw, the hosts will have to wait a little longer.

Kerala had over 60% possession but Meghalaya's resilience helped them record one of the best results of the championship.

The high-flying hosts, who had not conceded in two matches, scoring seven goals in the process, had met a formidable opposition in the team from the North East, who were clear underdogs on paper.

The visitors, who started slow and relied on counter-attacks, had stunned the hosts by taking a surprise lead early in the second half. A few minutes before that Kerala captain Jijo Joseph had missed a penalty. The match had been tied 1-1 at half-time.

Kerala were made to rue the penalty miss when Figo Syndai put Meghalaya ahead for the first time in the match when he arrived unmarked in the box and scored with a free header in the 55th minute.

It was a goal against the run of play as the hosts had appeared more dangerous courtesy a couple of substitutions at the break. Substitute Jesin TK had won Kerala the penalty when he was fouled inside the box. However, skipper Jijo Joseph, who scored a hat-trick in the first match, fired over.

After going behind for the first time in the tournament, Kerala showed great urgency and were rewarded when a beautiful freekick from Arjun Jayaraj found Muhammed Saheef unmarked in the box and the lanky defender managed to turn in it to make the tie 2-2.

Earlier in the match, Kerala had taken the lead through Muhammed Safnad in the 17th minute after a neat footwork from Nijo Gilbert. But Bino George's boys also thwarted a couple of chances thereafter.

Meghalaya were set out to hit Kerala on the counter with their pacy wingers. Their chances, however, were few and far between as Kerala, playing a high line, retained possession almost as quickly as they lost it.

But an early substitution changed the dynamics of the match for Meghalaya as Sangti Janai's arrival added width to their game.

He so nearly set up Kynsaibor Lhuid soon after arriving but a timely tackle from Soyal Joshy came to Kerala's rescue.

Moments later, Kerala goalkeeper Midhun V was forced into making a fingertips save from a freekick. But the visitors were rewarded for their hardwork five minutes before the break.

Atlanson found space on the right and send in a timely cross that fooled the Kerala defence. Kynsaibor showed great commitment to meet the cross on the run and scored with a thumping header.
Result: Megahalaya 2 (Kynsaibor 40, Figo Syndai 55) drew with Kerala 2 (Safnad 17, Saheef 58)