Manipur bow out with 1-5 semi-final loss to Kerala
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 29 2024: Manipur suffered an embarassing 1-5 loss to Kerala in the second semi-final match of the 78th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad tonight.

The two sides started aggressively early on and saw Manipur's efforts parried away easily before Naseeb Rahman capitalised on a through ball to beat the Manipur keeper in the 22nd minute and put Kerala ahead.

Manipur fought back and drew level at the stroke of the halftime as S Ragui made no mistake in converting a penalty following a handball inside the Kerala box.

Manipur looked to have lost momentum in the dying minutes of the opening half as Kerala forwards strung a series of attacks and tested Manipur defence at will.

Kerala may have taken the lead in the 45th minute but was ruled offside but their relentless attempt paid dividend as Muhammad Ajsal did not even look at the ball to flick in a beautiful cross from Md Riyas from the left flank few moments before the end of the first half to give Kerala the lead again.

Manipur toiled hard to draw level after the restart but Kerala soaked all pressure before gradually gaining control of the possession and renewed their search for goal.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, super sub Muhammed Roshal won a ball from the right blank and cleanly took towards the D area before dispatching it past the onrushing Manipur custodian Salam Sanaton to make it 3-1 in the 73rd minute.

Muhammed Roshal was at it again as the ball fell to him inside the box following a poor clearance off a corner kick and he made no mistake tipping the ball in for his second goal in the 88th minute.

Kerala lost Manoj off a second yellow card three minutes into the added time but it did not really affect the game.

To much disappointment, Manipur conceded a penalty four minutes into the added time following a foul inside the box and Muhammed Roshal stepped up to convert the goal and finished off the game 5-1 with his hattrick.

Kerala will now meet West Bengal in the title clash on December 31 .

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