Kerala ends title drought in junior National championships

Kerala boasts of a rich legacy in Santosh Trophy Senior National football championship with seven titles and 17 appearances in the final. However, in the junior National championship, Kerala’s trophy cabinet has remained empty for many decades. The State’s last title at the junior level came in 1995 when it won the now defunct M. Dutta Ray Trophy National u-21 championship. However, the three decade-long title drought came to an end when Kerala won the Swami Vivekananda National u-20 title at Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday.

Kerala staged a superb comeback from 0-2 down to beat Mizoram 4-2 in the final.

Few gave Kerala a fighting chance when it left for Chattisgarh on May 10. However, coach Dr. T.A. Renjith remained optimistic, had faith in his boys and they reposed it with the title.

Kerala started its campaign with a 5-1 rout of Chandigarh and followed it up with a 3-0 win against Uttarakhand. It then drubbed Andaman & Nicobar 12-0 to top the group.

Kerala edged Meghalaya 2-1 in the quarterfinals and crushed Punjab 4-1 in the semifinals.

“The boys had a fair bit of experience and exposure as they were part of professional teams like FC Calicut, Kerala Blasters, Muthoot FA and Thrissur Magic FC which took part in (the) SLK and KPL. So they were battle hardened and only needed correct guidance. We had a 20-day training camp in Thrissur and it was player oriented with focus mainly on improving fitness. The team also played a few practice matches with the local clubs. I am happy that they were able to execute what we had planned during training. This triumph is very important for Kerala football,’’ said Renjith.

“The schedule was hectic. We had to play seven matches in nine days and had little time to recover. We lost K.P Atheendran, who was a key striker, midway through the tournament. I had to use the substitutions judiciously in the matches to give the main players sufficient time to rest. Our tactics were flexible and based on match situations. The team had self-belief and we fought back in the final. Everyone played their part in the triumph and it was a combined effort though Calvin Thomas and Sheril Shaji Thomas, who won the Golden Boot, were outstanding,” added the coach.

The triumph has lifted the mood of despondency among the football fans who had witnessed middling performances by Kerala clubs in the ISL, IFL and IWL this season.