SANTOSH TROPHY

Santosh Trophy: Kerala hammer Lakshadweep 10-0, place a firm foot in final round

Kerala crushed Lakshadweep 10-0 in their second match in the Santosh Trophy qualifiers (Group H) at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode. Kerala were 4-0 up at half-time.

Substitute Sajeesh E scored a hat-trick, while Muhammad Ajsal and Gani Ahmed Nigam added a brace each to make it two wins out of two for Kerala. The hosts had edged Railways 1-0 in the opener on Wednesday.

Earlier on the day, Railways crushed Pondicherry 10-1. Kerala now top the group with 6 points and a goal difference of 11, while the Railways are second on three points.

The game was one-sided from the off, with Muhammad Ajsal putting Kerala ahead in the 6th minute. Kerala bombarded the Lakshadweep goal with attempts and Naseeb Rahman got a second within three more minutes. For a side that had to rely on a substitute and a stroke of luck to claim its winner (1-0) in the opening match against the Railways, this felt like freedom.

Coach Biby Thomas Muttath could even afford to take off Ajsal after just 30 minutes with the scoreline reading 3-0. It didn't appear like Ajsal, Kerala's hero against the Railways, who was one of the three changes, had an injury. But the substitution hardly made any difference to the one-way traffic as the newcomer Sajeesh E made it 4-0 with a calm finish in the 36thminute. Muhammed Musharaf, who made marauding runs on the left flank, had found the striker unmarked in the centre of the box with an easy cut back.

It seemed Kerala might go easy in the second period, but Arjun V, who came on at the break, proved everyone wrong with a goal within 10 seconds of the restart. The midfielder, who replaced Nijo Gilbert, fired a right-foot long ranger into the top right corner.

Substitute Mohammed Rishad Gafoor spotted a run of Gani Nigam, who fired low into the bottom right corner to make it 6-0 in the 55th minute. Within a minute of that, Kerala added a 7th. It was left-back Musharaq, who had made another dashing run. But this time, instead of searching for a partner in the box, he fired it past the keeper with the outside of the left.

Lakshadweep had given up already because Kerala attackers could easily breach their defences. The underdogs' casual attempt at clearing danger contributed to Kerala's tally, as Sajeesh found out in the 78th minute. A missed clearance from goalkeeper Saheer Khan allowed the Kerala striker to roll the ball into an empty net. Just two minutes later, it was 9-0, with Gani scoring with a powerful header off a cross.

In the 88th minute, Kerala got to double figures with Sajeesh getting his hat-trick. Substitute Mohammed Roshal danced into the edge of the box before giving a smooth assist for Sajeesh, who was perfectly placed to fire in.

The Group H qualifiers will end on Sunday with Kerala playing Pondicherry and Lakshadweep taking on Railways.

Result: Kerala 10 (Ajsal 6, 20, Naseeb 9, Sajeesh 37, 78, 89, Rishad 46, Gani 55, 81, Musharaf 56) bt Lakshadweep 0