Striker Shijin feints and fires Kerala to victory against Odisha

Kerala secured their first clean sheet of the final round of the 79th Santosh Trophy with a 1-0 win over Odisha at the Dhakuakhana Football Stadium in Assam on Tuesday.

Striker Shijin T scored in the 22nd minute to give Kerala three points. Kerala began the final round with a 3-1 win over Punjab and were held to a 1-1 draw by Railways before today.

Shafeeq Hassan's Kerala created a series of chances but could not score more than once. The one they netted was a fine individual effort that resulted from a giveaway.

Shijin picked up the loose ball outside the box and took on a pair of centre-backs -- feinting a left move before taking the ball to his right to deceive one and slipping it past the other -- and placed into a corner of the net.

Kerala controlled the proceedings but had been reluctant to attack freely, probably as a result of the late equaliser they conceded in the previous match against Railways. Kerala's chances largely came from their high press.

The two frontmen, Shijin and Muhammad Ajsal, positioned themselves between the defenders, waiting to pounce on a deep release. It was a smart tactic on a patchy pitch that was not conducive to short passing.

Shijin played himself onside inside five minutes, but Siddhanta Padhan was alert and effected a smart save.

Odisha hardly penetrated the Kerala defence, and on a rare occasion, they did, Kartik Hantal rushed with his shot that went wide of Hajmal's post.

Kerala's next match is against Meghalaya at the Silapathar Football Stadium on January 29, set for 2 pm kick-off.