Kerala in fine form at the 49th Junior National Football Championship
The 49th Junior National Football Championship is currently underway in Jharkhand. Except score update on the AIFF website, there is hardly any news coming through from the championship.
Kerala being led by Anantha Murali from Thrissur who was earlier selected to train in Germany through the Bajaj – Allianz football camp is in fine form so far. I don’t expect to jinx Kerala’s journey in the tournament but their form deserves to be mentioned.
In their first group match, they mauled Jammu & Kashmir 12-0, with Anantha Murali scoring five times. The second match against Rajasthan also saw a huge score line. Kerala walloped Rajasthan 10-0.
The last time i wrote about Kerala’s appearance in Junior National Football Championship was in 2010. Unlike today, Kerala was in tatters at that time. They lost to Mizoram (4-0) and Chandigarh (6-0) in the group stages. I did not even bother to check the score line for other matches then on.
However, this time around the Kerala team looks to be in good nick. There is long way to go in the championship. Hope the winning streak continues and they win the championship.
Kerala will take on a formidable opposition in Arunachal Pradesh tomorrow and that result should give us a idea about our chances in the championship.
Results so far :
Kerala 12 -0 Jammu & Kashmir
Kerala 10 – 0 Rajasthan
Upcoming Group D fixture : Kerala Vs Arunachal Pradesh, 24th September
Top Scorer : Anantha Murali with 7 goals so far.