Kerala stormed into the final round of Santosh Trophy with a thumping 7-0 win over Pondicherry in their third match of Group H qualifiers at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode on Sunday.

Kerala had edged Railways 1-0 before crushing Lakshadweep 10-0 to end the qualifiers with a perfect defensive record. Railways finished second in the Group H qualifiers with 6 points after a 1-0 win over Lakshadweep earlier on the day.

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Naseeb Rahman and Sajeesh E scored a brace each while Gani Ahmed Nigam, Christy Davis and Shijin T joined the goal-scoring party for Kerala. Pondicherry's poor defending accounted for most of the goals, including the opener scored by Gani from the penalty spot.

The final round of Santosh Trophy 2024-25 will be held in Telangana. The draw for the final round will take place on November 30. Kerala are seven-time winners of the annual men's football championship, with their last triumph coming at Manjeri in Malappuram in 2021-22.

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Result: Kerala 7 (Naseeb Rahman 14, 64, Sajeesh 20, 66, Gani Nigam 11 (pen), Christy 52, Shijin 70) bt Pondicherry 0

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