Santosh Trophy: Group champions Kerala advance to the final round.

On Sunday, Kerala defeated Mizoram 5-1 to win Group II and go to the Santosh Trophy National Football Championships semifinals.

At the EMS Coropration Stadium, the hosts’ Naresh Bhagyanathan scored the game’s first goal in the 30th minute. The forward scored with a backheel after latching onto a rebound.

Soon after the second half’s restart, Nijo Gilbert added to the advantage with a free kick.

In the 65th minute, Naresh scored his second goal to make it 3-0.

The goal was scored by Gifty Gracious in the 77th minute.

In the 81st minute, Malsawmfela gave Mizoram the lead back.

But four minutes later, Vishak Mohanan made it 5-1.

Kerala, the defending champion, finished first in the group with 15 points from 5 games. With 12 points from 5 games, Mizoram came in second.

Kerala started their campaign by defeating Rajasthan 7-0 and Bihar 4-1. Before the decisive victory over Mizoram, they defeated Jammu & Kashmir 3-0 and Andhra Pradesh 5-0.