A recap of the Kerala Premier League semi-finals; the final between Gokulam Kerala FC and Indian Navy will be played on the 18th of May.
Indian Navy sail past FC Kerala
11 May 2019, Semi-final I: FC Kerala 0-2 Indian Navy
Indian Navy eased past FC Kerala to book a place in the final of the Kerala Premier League 2018-19. The Navy team looked well-drilled with their league fixtures coming thick and fast over the past month.
FC Kerala on other hand looked short on match practice as they haven’t played a competitive fixture since their win over Kovalam FC on the 15th of April.
The first half saw neither team break the deadlock although a couple of half chances fell to the Indian Navy side. After the resumption, Navy looked more threatening and broke the deadlock in the 51st minute through Britto. The former Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan man scored with a well-placed free kick from outside the box.
As FC Kerala searched for a way to get back in the game, the Navy side doubled their lead in the 85th minute. The goalscorer was Bipaka Thapa and today’s goal is his sixth in four games.
Late entrants to the tournament, Indian Navy have looked compact in their outings so far and they will be up against Gokulam Kerala FC in the final on May 18.
Gokulam Kerala pip Kerala Blasters in a penalty shootout
12 May 2019, Semi-final II: Gokulam Kerala FC 0-0[5-4p] Kerala Blasters FC [R]
A fairly attractive game to watch between the Kerala Premier League heavyweights even though it ended up with no goal scored at the end of the 90.
Gokulam Kerala FC were the dominant side in today’s game from start to finish. Some resolute defending by the Reserves especially the keeper Ayush Das kept the Ghanaian forward Christian Sabah and co at bay for the duration of the game.
Although both teams had almost the same number of attempts on goal, Gokulam’s chances were more clear cut and the Blasters did well to stockpile in defence.
The game was to be decided via a penalty shoot-out after the 90 and both keepers didn’t end up making a save in the shootout.
Kerala Blasters took the first penalty kick, but Narayan Chettri shot wide off the target.
| KERALA BLASTERS FC | GOKULAM KERALA FC |
| Narayan Chettri (missed) | Shibil Mohammed (scored) |
| Shahajas T (scored) | Sanju (scored) |
| Pragyan Gogoi (scored) | Justin (scored) |
| Jacob John (scored) | Bijesh Balan (scored) |
| Suraj (scored) | Christian Sabah (scored) |
Christian Sabah scored the fifth penalty to give Gokulam Kerala FC the win and passage to the final. They will take on Indian Navy tomorrow May 18 at the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode.
Credit for Images: Gokulam Kerala FC & Kerala Blasters FC.
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