The Hindu : Sport / Football : Malappuram in final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 04, 2006

Sport

Sport - Football

Malappuram in final

Principal Correspondent

MANJERI: Cheered on by a massive, passionate crowd, host Malappuram defeated Palakkad 3-1 and entered the final of the state senior inter-district football championship at the Govt. BHSS Ground here on Friday night.

After a barren first half, T. Asif Sahir — whose moves was greeted with delight by the adoring home crowd — scored the first two goals before Abdul Malik put the game beyond Palakkad. Abdul Hakkim reduced the margin for Palakkad in the dying minutes.

Asif scored his first goal right after the break, slotting the ball home after his header rebounded off the post. Barely ten minutes later, he struck again with a beautifully angled shot from the edge of the box.

In the 70th minute, Malappuram went 3-0 up after Malik beat a couple of defenders on the right flank before slamming the ball into the net with power and precision.

On Thursday, Ernakulam entered the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Idukki and will take on Kasaragod on Saturday for a place in the final.

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