U20 men’s football nationals: Kerala beat Haryana to enter quarters; A.P. draw with Gujarat

Narainpur (Chhattisgarh) : Kerala made the quarterfinals of the Swami Vivekananda U20 Men’s National Football Championship from Group D when they overcame the challenge of Haryana 2-0 at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama ground here on Tuesday.

In the other match of the group later in the day, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat played a 1-1 draw. Both teams were already out of the reckoning.

Scoring once in each half, Kerala confirmed their supremacy, finishing the group with an all-win record and nine points from three matches. Kerala will now cross swords with Group B winners Delhi on Thursday for a place in the semifinals.

Kerala, who dominated the match most of the time, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Midfielder Akhish Cyril took a curling corner from the right that landed in the box, and P. Adil evaded his markers to head past the Haryana goalkeeper Hitesh.

One more goal in the 80th minute by Ajin A. decidedly took the match away from Haryana’s grip. Kerala finished their group engagements by scoring 11 goals. They conceded only one in the 3-1 win over Gujarat. Haryana ended with two wins and one defeat.

The match between Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat was of no consequence as both teams lost their two earlier matches in the group.

Both goals came in the first half. While Kavy Chauhan put Gujarat in the lead in the 28th minute, Gujarat cancelled the lead within three minutes through Marappa Gowda Sethu.

There is no match on Wednesday. On Thursday, Kerala take on Delhi in the first quarterfinal.