Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), May 4 Kerala and Haryana recorded wins in their opening Group D fixtures at the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men's National Football Championship at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram Ground, on Friday.
Kerala put on a first-half masterclass to triumph over Gujarat 3-1, while Haryana held Andhra Pradesh at bay with a superlative defensive performance to take a 2-0 victory.
Kerala edged out Gujarat in the first game of the day, Akshay Kumar Subedi's brace key to them taking home the points. Kerala's opener came in the 11th minute, after some ingenious play by Subedi and his attacking counterpart Alan Shaju. Having picked up the ball in midfield, Subedi exchanged a quick one-two with Shaju, whose perfectly-weighted pass put the forward through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He finished coolly to give his team the lead.
If the first displayed brilliant teamwork the second was pure individual brilliance as Subedi let fire from 30 yards to slot the ball in the top corner. Shaju got a goal himself in the 37th minute to put Kerala in cruise control at the end of the half. A disciplined and resolute second-half performance saw Gujarat pull a goal back via Krishna Khatsuriya in the 62nd minute, but in the end it wasn't enough to threaten a Kerala victory.
In the second game, Haryana beat Andhra Pradesh 2-0 with a comfortable and dominant display. A brilliant first goal by Haryana in the 21st minute set the tone of proceedings. From Rahul Boora's cross from the left, Veer Gahlaut chested down the ball into the path of an onrushing Manish Kumar inside the box. The forward let the volley fly high into the roof of the net to give his side the lead.
Haryana doubled that lead with a second Manish Kumar goal in the 82nd minute having held off Andhra Pradesh's second-half charge with a calm defensive performance to take the points.
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