Pradeep strikes brace, Kerala tames Tamil Nadu 3-1 in Santosh Trop

Gurgaon, Oct 15 (UNI) India internationl NP Pradeep's brilliant brace powered title contender Kerala to a facile 3-1 win over Tamil Nadu in a group B quarterfinal league match of the 61st Santosh Trophy football tournament here today.

Pradeep broke the deadlock in the 50th minute through a flying header after teammate Abdul Naushad had put his team ahead in the 13th minute and Tamil Nadu's Kuluthungan equalised in the 25th minute. Pradeep finally put it beyond Tamil Nadu's reach in the 78th minute through a solo effort.

Kerala had slight advantage in an evenly contested first half as they used both the flanks well and Naushad and Abdul Hakim threatened the Tamil Nadu defence.

On the other hand, Tamil Nadu forwards were not well fed by the midfielders and Kuluthungan and Raman Vijayan could not test Kerala goalkeeper Jean Christian.

Naushad drew the first blood from a hard work done by captain Abdul Hakim. The Kerala skipper found himself unmarked on top of the rival box and seeing the goalkeeper running out, he cleverly passed the ball to an onrushing Naushad who had all the time in the world to slam it into an empty net.

Tamil Nadu, however, equalised from a set-piece. Satish Kumar had earned a free-kick near the right top edge of the box and captain Jestus Anthony sent a perfect free-kick for Kuluthungan whose head touched goalkeeper's fingers before crashing into the net.

After the breather, Kerala gradually took complete control of the match and Pradeep regained the lead for his side from a set-piece.

R Rajesh took the free-kick and an airborne Pradeep, emerging out of nowhere, nodded the ball home in an acrobatic style.

After that, it was Kerala all along and in the last 15 minutes, the ball was confined to the Tamil Nadu half.

Pradeep, meanwhile, struck again to round off the tally in the 78th minute. After collecting a pass from Mohammad Rafi outside the box, Pradeep dodged past his marker and the Mahindra United player unleashed a powerful right-footer from almost zero angle from the right which went through the goalkeeper's fingers and crashed into the net after hitting inside of the goalpost.

Kerala coach K Bharathan was naturally happy with the show and said, ''Considering this is the first match of the quarterfinal league, I'm happy with my boys' performance and taking three full points is very important at this stage.'' He said he had instructed the players not to concede space and go for man-marking and it paid off in the end.

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