Just in the nick of time: Dorielton found the equaliser in injury-time.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin
An injury-time goal by Brazilian forward Dorielton Gomes helped Forca Kochi FC force Kannur Warriors FC to a 1-1 draw in a Super League Kerala fixture at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.
The equaliser came much against the run of play. Just as Kannur was ready to celebrate a win, which would have helped it regain the lead in the league table, came Dorieltonโs goal.
As the striker raced into the box in injury time, Kannur goalkeeper P.A. Ajmal charged out and stopped him but the custodian could not do a clean job of it and the ball spilled out. A Kochi player made another attempt but this time Kannur defender Aswinkumar blocked the shot. However, Dorielton took the rebound and quickly scored to help the home side share points.
Earlier, midfielder Pragyan Sundar Gogoi had given Kannur the lead in the 17th minute. The move began from the left with Munmun Timothy sending a nice cross to Adrian Sardinero inside the box. With a Kochi defender dancing in front of him, Sardinero quickly relayed the ball to Pragyan Sundar who sent home a fine left-footer. A home defender desperately put a foot out to stop the effort and the deflection confused goalkeeper S. Hajmal as he could only watch the ball settle into the left corner.
Stung by the deficit, Kochi fought hard. The home side nicely advanced through the right flank and sent a stream of crosses into the box but Ajmal pulled off some fine saves and the visiting defenders also did a fine job in thwarting all the attacks.
Delay in proceedings
With one of the floodlight towers going off, the match had a forced break for some 10 minutes around the 80th minute.
But the delay saw Kochi go home with a happy ending. Kannur is now level with Calicut FC at the top of the six-team league table with 13 points but the latter has a superior goal difference while todayโs point helped Kochi climb over Thiruvananthapuram Kombans and move to the third spot.
The results: Forca Kochi FC 1 (Dorielton Gomes 90+3) drew with Kannur Warriors FC 1 (Pragyan Sundar Gogoi 17).
Saturdayโs match: Calicut FC 2 (Kervens Belfort 57 & 66) bt Malappuram FC 1 (Pedro Manzi 80).
Fridayโs match: Thiruvananthapuram Kombans 2 (Autemar Bispo 40-pen, Shihad 90+4) bt Thrissur Magic FC 0.
Published – October 14, 2024 01:28 am IST
