Kannur’s Semi-Final Hopes in the Balance After Defeat

Kannur: Kannur Warriors FC’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are now uncertain after they lost their final home game. In the ninth round of the Sports.com Super League Kerala, organized by Amul, Calicut FC defeated Kannur Warriors 2-1. The match took place at the Jawahar Municipal Stadium. For Calicut, Sebastian Rincon and Muhammed Ashiq scored, while Kannur’s only goal came from a penalty by captain Adrian Sardinero.

Calicut remains undefeated at the top of the table with 20 points from nine games. Kannur is in fifth place with 10 points from the same number of matches. Having failed to win a single game on their home ground, Kannur must now win their final match against Thrissur and also depend on the results of other teams to qualify for the semi-finals.

Calicut entered the field without their top scorer, Muhammed Ajsal, who has six goals in the league, and made eight changes to their previous lineup. Kannur also gave opportunities to players like Kevin Lewis and Arjun in the starting eleven.

While Kannur was pushing for a goal, Calicut scored in the 24th minute. Muhammed Ashiq received a through ball and delivered a cross from the left wing, which was converted by Colombian player Sebastian Rincon with a first-time touch (1-0). In the 35th minute, Sinan found the net for Kannur, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Just before halftime, Calicut’s Aslam received a yellow card for a rough tackle.

At the beginning of the second half, Calicut brought on Federico Buasso as a substitute. In the 52nd minute, a shot from Adrian Sardinero was saved by Calicut goalkeeper Hajmal. Calicut doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Muhammed Ashiq scored from a pass by Federico Buasso (2-0). Following the goal, Calicut brought on Roshal and Shahabas, while Kannur substituted Asif and Karim Samb.

Kannur pulled one goal back in the 74th minute. They were awarded a penalty after Alexis Sossa handled the ball, and Adrian Sardinero successfully converted it (2-1).
The previous encounter between these two teams ended in a 1-1 draw. A crowd of 11,127 attended the match at the stadium.

On Sunday (November 30), the final match of the ninth round will see Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC take on Malappuram FC. A victory for Thiruvananthapuram will make them the third team to qualify for the semi-finals. The match is scheduled for 7:30 PM at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Live Broadcast:

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