Santosh Trophy 2025-26: Kerala secures final eighth spot after 3-0 win against Meghalaya

Kerala secured a spot in the quarter-finals in Group B of the final round of the Santosh Trophy 2025-26 after beating Meghalaya 3-0 in Silapathar on Thursday.

With these results, Kerala have moved to 10 points from four matches, and with just one match remaining for each team, they are assured of a place in the top four in Group B, which would earn them a place in the quarter-finals.

Kerala scored through Arjun V in the 36th minute before Muhammed Riyas scored in the 71st, and Muhammad Ajsal in the 85th minute bulged the net to quell Meghalaya’s challenge.

Kerala’s two goals at the end of the second half completely changed the course of the match. Before and after taking the lead through a half-time goal, it was Meghalaya who conjured up the best scoring opportunities but squandered them at crucial moments. Once they got insurance for themselves, Kerala played at a relaxed pace even if Meghalaya had too much to do and which they barely tried.

Meghalaya’s Deibormame Tongper missed an open opportunity after being put through on the counter by Fairming Suting. Kerala then showed some urgency and attacked from the left.

Kerala resisted the attacks and built their own attacks from the flanks, playing the ball a lot more squarely. In the 71st minute, fullback Sandeep S. sent a long diagonal into the penalty area. The unmarked Muhammed Riyas first met him at the nearest post and tagged him home.

It was Kerala all the way as it scored its third goal five minutes before regular time. Substitute Viknesh made a long run down the left and scored squarely in the penalty area. Aboobacker Dilshad failed to connect, but Muhammed Ajsal was on hand to place the ball from close range, and it was all over for Meghalaya.

Punjab registered its first win of the last round campaign, beating Services 1-0 at the Dhakuakhana Football Stadium.

The north side managed to take the lead in the first half with Harmanpreet Singh scoring the only goal of the match in the 28th minute. It was a cross from the right flank by Harjit that caused some commotion in the Services section. Despite being flanked by two defenders, Harmanpreet managed to get the ball on his chest, a touch that took the two defenders away from the ball. Harmanpreet saw his chance and pulled the trigger from close range to give his team the lead.

The eight-time champions had the opportunity to double their lead in stoppage time in the first half, when they earned a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. However, Himanshu Jangra’s effort curled over the crossbar.

Services increased the pressure in the second half. Jijo Jerone hit one over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box in the 68th minute.

In the 71st minute, substitute Vijay Marandi came in from the left and scored a shot at the Punjab goal, but Akashmaan Chaudhary got in the way of the shot. Three minutes later, Marandi thought he had leveled when he pounced on an aerial passing ball from captain Abhishek Rattu and it slipped past the keeper. However, much to his dismay, he was flagged for offside.

Punjab goalkeeper Karandeep Singh made a series of saves in the closing stages as Services tightened the screws, with the eight-time champions seeing out the match for the three points.

Odisha came back strongly to overturn Railways’ early goal advantage and score the first goal of the tournament in the second half, forcing a 1-1 draw at the Silapathar Football Stadium.

Subrata Murmu put Railways ahead with a fortuitous goal in the third minute, while Odisha found an equalizer through Arpan Lakra in the 66th.

The railroads couldn’t have hoped for a better start. Just two minutes after kick-off, their stopper Sukhandeep Singh brought midfielder and captain Johnson Joseph Mathews into possession near the halfway line. The Railways skipper found a long corridor for Subrata Murmu on the right. Murmur rushed in and sent a solid, angled grounder to the near post. Odisha goalkeeper Siddhanta Padhan misjudged it, thinking it would go past the left upright. But to his annoyance, the ball rolled into the net.

The Railroad Corps kept up a steady stream of attacks with its short passing game and often asked questions of the opposing defense. However, Odisha held firm and denied him clear openings, although he himself failed to break past the Railway backlines, and the only time he came close was when the impressive Srikant Gadaba broke loose in the box midway through the half and shot, but goalkeeper Birkhang Daimary held it well.

Odisha’s right wing-back Abinash Muduli did well to overlap and produce a number of centres, but the Railways defense was unbeatable as they kept their lead intact at the breather.

However, in the 66th minute, Odisha managed to restore parity and score the first goal in their fourth outing. Ranjan Soren brought captain Karthik Hantal into possession along the left flank. Hantal in turn came up with a low center, and Arpan Lakra raced in to push it high into the net from close range.

Published on January 29, 2026