Karnataka took sweet revenge for their 3-7 semifinal defeat against Kerala in the semifinal of last year's Santosh Trophy on Sunday by upsetting the defending champions 1-0 in the Group A tie of the National Football Championship at Bhubaneswar.
Abhishek Shankar Powar punished Kerala for their slow start in the 20th minute to score the only goal in the match. Kerala, whose squad consists of just three players from their title-winning team, looked bereft of ideas -- missing simple passes and making uncharacteristic errors in midfield.
Kerala’s game had been so dismal that coach PB Ramesh was forced to make two changes in the first half. He made two more changes in the second half that included the induction of OM Asif, to bring more speed to their wings. Though Kerala’s attacks gained pace after Asif’s entry, it didn’t lead to goals.
Asif, Riswanali and Nijo GIlbert were guilty of squandering chances in the second half --- shooting over or tamely when a simpler finish would’ve seen them grab them at least a draw. Karnataka held on to the lead till the final whistle to grab three points.
Kerala will next face Maharashtra on Tuesday. Currently, Kerala are in fourth place in group A with three points from two matches. Odisha lead the table while Punjab and Karnataka are second and third respectively. All three teams have four points each.
