Tamil Nadu hold Kerala, book Santosh Trophy berth

The striker, who endured a forgettable first half, latched on to a cross from Joffin and unleashed a powerful strike to calm the nerves of the home team.  

The goal helped Tamil Nadu up the ante and Soosairaj could have helped Tamil Nadu emerge winners had he not shot agonisingly over the woodwork. Earlier, a 45th minute strike by Ashkar helped the visitors take the lead. A blunder by Sajan in midfield saw Suhair run away with the ball, pass it to Ashkar who dodged Tamil Nadu’s Kali Alaudeen and send a scorcher into the net. 

Both the teams started on an aggressive note and the deadlock could not be broken easily. The Kerala defenders marked Raegan and the striker was found wanting for missing a couple of chances with poor finishing. 

Kerala could have taken the lead by the half hour mark when Suhair took a pass from Ashkar only to see the Tamil Nadu custodian T Sounesh pull off a good save. The resulting rebound fell at Sumesh’s feet who shot the ball agonisingly wide. 

Tamil Nadu could have ended up the superior side before the break had Raegan beat the Kerala goalkeeper. Soosairaj did the good work and set up Raegan on a platter but the striker couldn’t finish the job with ease.