MALAPPURAM: MES Keveeyam College, Valanchery, were left to rue missed chances as Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, scored twice late into the second half to book a place in the quarterfinals of TNIE GOAL 2017 at Malappuram District Sports Council Stadium on Friday. Down for a major part of the game, two-time champions Kerala Varma bounced back when Harikrishna A U scored in the 79th and 83rd minutes after the college from the host district failed to find a way past Kerala Varma goalkeeper Shihas K S despite c reat i n g many scoring opportunities.
The game began on a tame note with chances far and few between during early minutes as both sides restricted themselves to swings from the distance. The first clear chance of the game came in the 35th minute after a howler from Shihas, who would go on to redeem himself for the remainder of the game. Shihas, who took a free-kick from his own box, gave the ball away to Keveeyam’s Jamsheed K V, who failed to hit the target.
The game opened up as it progressed culminating in a frenetic few minutes before the halftime whistle. Keveeyam’s Muhammed Haris Babu failed to connect with an inviting cross from Abdusamad P in the 37th minute while Kerala Varma’s Surjith V Ramesh shot straight at the keeper after a cross from Babble Sivery Girish escaped the attention of defenders and reached the centre in the 40th minute.
Three minutes later, Kerala Varma worked up another chance as their right back Lalkrishna A U pushed forward and found Rohith K S in front of the goal, who ballooned it over. Keveeyam stepped up their game in the second half and Kerala Varma had their goalkeeper Shihas to thank for keeping them alive in the tie. Keveeyam had further chances in the 71st and 76th minutes. First, Jamsheed was again denied by the man of the match Shihas and was again called into action when Ruknudheen K M fired a powerful shot at his direction from far out.
However, against the run of play, Kerala Varma went ahead after Keveeyam goalkeeper Ali Akbar K spilled a free-kick from Surjith V Ramesh and it was easy picking for Harikrishna who scored from close range. Four minutes later, the game was put to bed when Harikrishna found his second after Rohith cushioned the ball into his path.