Six-Goal Thriller: Malappuram and Calicut Battle to a Draw

Malappuram FC and Calicut FC played out a 3-3 draw in a match that went ahead despite heavy rain. Malappuram staged a remarkable comeback by scoring two goals in the last five minutes to secure the draw. The game was the second fixture of the third round of the Sports.com Super League Kerala, held at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium. For Malappuram, Aitor Aldalur, Nidhin Madhu, and John Kennedy were the goal scorers. Mohammed Ajsal scored two goals for Calicut, with Prasanth netting one. After three games, Malappuram has five points, and Calicut has four.

Calicut opened the scoring in the seventh minute of the match. A corner taken by Federico Hernan Bozzo was initially blocked by Malappuram goalkeeper Mohammed Azhar. During the subsequent action in the box, the ball fell to Mohammed Ajsal, whose volley put Calicut ahead 1-0. Ajsal had another chance in the 15th minute, but the goalkeeper saved it. In the 20th minute, Malappuram’s Gani Nigam took a shot following a misplaced pass by Calicut captain Prasanth, but goalkeeper Hajmal pushed it away for a corner. Jonathan Pereira of Calicut received a yellow card for a foul on Facundo Daniel. Malappuram made a substitution in the 38th minute, with Akhil replacing the injured Akbar Siddique. Just before the first half ended, Malappuram scored the equalizer. Captain Aitor Aldalur headed in a corner from Facundo Daniel to make the score 1-1.

The second half began with continuous rain, and Calicut regained the lead five minutes in. Prasanth headed in a cross from Salim to make it 2-1. Malappuram then brought on Rishad Gafoor and John Kennedy to increase their attacking options, while Calicut substituted Prasanth with Aniket Yadav. In the 72nd minute, Mohammed Ajsal scored Calicut’s third goal, getting past three defenders and the keeper for his second goal of the match. Both teams created more chances, but the wet conditions made scoring difficult. The game changed in the final five minutes when Nidhin Madhu and substitute Kennedy scored for Malappuram to level the match. Kennedy scored from the rebound of a saved penalty to tie the score at 3-3. The match was attended by 22,956 people.

The final match of the third round will take place on October 24. Forca Kochi FC is set to play against Kannur Warriors FC. The venue for the game is the newly prepared Ernakulam Maharaja’s College Stadium.

Live:

The match will be telecast 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).