Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram Neck-and-Neck as Contest Enters Final Round

The race for the final two spots in the Amul Sports.com Super League Kerala semi-finals will go down to the last round of matches. The situation remains undecided after Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC and Malappuram FC played out a 1-1 draw in their ninth-round fixture at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium. Elforsy scored for Malappuram, and Paulo Victor scored the goal for Thiruvananthapuram.

With nine rounds completed, Thiruvananthapuram is in third place with 12 points, while Malappuram holds the fourth spot with 11 points. Kannur is in fifth place with 10 points. The results of the final round games—Thrissur vs. Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram vs. Calicut, and Malappuram vs. Kochi—will decide which two teams advance to the semi-finals. Calicut FC and Thrissur Magic FC have already qualified for the knockout stage.

In the 12th minute of the match, Malappuram’s Rishad Ghafoor made a strong run from the right, beat two defenders, but his shot went just wide of the post. Malappuram took the lead in the 17th minute. Moroccan player Elforsy scored with a long-range shot from outside the box to make it 1-0. Later, in the 28th minute, a pass from Badar was directed towards the goal by John Kennedy, but Thiruvananthapuram goalkeeper Sathyajith made a crucial save. In the first half, Thiruvananthapuram’s Roche, Jasim, and Thufail received yellow cards. Azhar later came on to replace Thufail.

Thiruvananthapuram found their equalizer just four minutes into the second half. Paulo Victor controlled a long pass from the midfield, got past the defense and the goalkeeper, and finished with his left foot to level the score at 1-1. It was the Brazilian forward’s third goal in the league. The first leg match between the two sides had also ended in a 1-1 draw. The game was watched by 6,221 spectators in the gallery.

The tenth and final round of league matches begins on Tuesday, December 2, with a critical game between Thrissur Magic FC and Kannur Warriors FC. Kannur must win to have a chance of reaching the semi-finals. The match will kick off at 7:30 PM at the Thrissur Corporation Stadium.

Live Coverage:

The matches will be available live on Sony Ten 2, DD Malayalam, and Sports.com. In the UAE, the game can be viewed on Etisalat’s e-vision channel (No. 742).