Chennai: It was a perfect start for Tamil Nadu in the Santosh Trophy south zone qualifiers. In front of an electric crowd at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday, Tamil Nadu defeated Kerala 1-0 to take a giant step towards qualifying for the final phase. A. Raegan tapped home S. Santha Kumar’s deep cross from the left in the 30th minute to send TN fans into ecstasy.
Earlier in the first match of the opening day, Andhra Pradesh trounced Andaman & Nicobar 5-0. The scoreline would have crossed respectability had the AP forwards been sharper.
Make no mistake; the match fans had been waiting for was the one between the hosts and last year’s runners-up. Tamil Nadu supporters must have gone home content. It wasn’t by any means an easy result. What made the difference was Tamil Nadu’s hunger.
Home goalkeeper A. Arun Pradeep was outstanding throughout. He ticked all the boxes that define a top custodian. He blocked the ball with conviction and was decisive in coming out to cut the crosses. In short, he played a flawless match.
No praise would be too high for the performance of Tamil Nadu’s central defenders K. Sathish and Wayne D’Silva. They kept their focus from the first whistle to the last and Kerala forwards found them immovable and resolute.
Nobody would have believed that it was Wayne’s first match in Santosh Trophy. The young centre-back played with composure and authority.
Earlier, J. Shashank bagged a hat-trick in AP’s rout. AP endured a frustrating spell before the No. 10 opened the scoring with a thunderbolt that hit the roof of the net. Andaman’s sleepy defence paved the way for their opponents’ handsome win. After a day’s rest, the qualifiers will resume on Tuesday.
Results
n Andhra Pradesh 5 (Shashank 18, 58, 77; Tennyson 27, Naidu 79) bt Andaman & Nicobar 0
n Tamil Nadu 1 (Raegan 30) bt Kerala 0.
