Santosh Trophy 2011 | Kerala win Santosh Trophy opener

Kerala State Senior Team began their campaign in style at the 65th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy by thrashing Jammu and Kashmir 5-1 in the Cluster IV at Tinsukia, Assam. R Kannan making his debut in Santosh Trophy was the star for Kerala with four goals, while Martin John found the other goal.

The match began with Kerala on the back foot as Jammu and Kashmir team were quick to adapt to the conditions at the Sports Association Ground at Tinsukia. But Kerala needed only ten minutes to find their momentum on the game. R Kannan who was partnering Rakesh up front drew the first blood in the 16th minute, as he accepted a long ball from midfielder Martin John before fooling the goal keeper and placing the ball in the back of the net.

The Kerala midfield comprising of Sumesh N, Marin John, Rahul P and captain Bijesh Ben looked lot more composed after the first goal went in and more chances came calling for the Kerala team. Kerala doubled their lead just four minutes after the first goal. This time it was an assist from Rakesh that Kannan tapped in from close range.

The scored remained 2-0 at half time. Kerala made all their three changes at half time. Rakesh was replaced by Usman up front, while Bijesh Ben made way for Vinod Kumar. Mohammed Razi was brought on for Rahul P in the midfield.

Five minutes into the second half, Martin John found his goal. It was a solo goal from the midfielder as he dribbled past two Kashmir defenders and hit a bullet into the goal. The score read 3-0 after 50 minutes. Kannan made it 4-0 for Kerala in the 61st minute with a spectacular volley of a cross from Usman V.

Jammu and Kasmir returned a goal back in the 67th minute of the match as Shanavaz Basheer found the back of the net taking advantage of a defensive mix up in the Kerala back line. But Kerala's four goal lead was restored in the 78th minute by Kannan who found his fourth goal of the game.

Kerala will now face Chandigarh in the second match of the cluster stages. The match is scheduled for a 03:30 PM kick off on Monday.

Kerala 5-1 Jammu and Kashmir
Goals: R Kannan (16', 20', 61', 78'), Martin John (50') - Shanavaz Basheer (67')

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 7 May 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.