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The sixth season of the Kerala Premier League kicked off on December 16th, 2018, with 11 teams divided into 2 groups. The league, which includes big sides like Kerala Blasters and Gokulam Kerala FC, has so far completed 11 matches this season.
In the first match of 2019, Kerala Blasters Reserves met SBI at the state capital Trivandrum. The Group A match ended in a draw as both the teams couldn't find the back of the net in the 90 minutes. With the two sides sharing a point each, SBI have played their 3rd draw of the season. Blasters, on the other hand, have drawn one after a loss and a victory.
Kerala Premier League - How the groups are placed
SBI had a good show against Sports Academy Tirur (SAT) in their previous fixture, where they drew after conceding the lead twice. However, they couldn't convert it to a win on Tuesday at their home ground. Thus, SBI drop to the 5th position in Group A with 3 points from 4 matches.
Kerala Blasters Reserves squad, coming in with a lot of expectations have had mixed results. The opening game of the season on December 16th saw the Yellow men go down miserably against RFC Kochi.
Blasters let in six goals and scored just two. But the squad, managed by Ranjith TA, recovered well and defeated RFC Kochi in the reverse fixture by three goals - two from Afdal VK and one from Hrishi Dhath. Blasters are third in Group A with 4 points.
In another game that happened on Wednesday, FC Thrissur launched their campaign with a victory over SAT. Two goals from Jibin Devassy ensured the Thrissur club 3 easy points. With this result, FC Thrissur have climbed to the fourth position in Group A, while SAT remain second and have to ward off the challenge from Kerala Blasters Reserves.
As the Indian Navy squad is yet to play their first match of the league, the competition is sure to heat up. Now, RFC Kochi lead the group with 4 points, followed by SAT and Kerala Blasters at the 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. FC Thrissur is 4th, above SBI and Indian Navy.
The next match in the group will be played between RFC Kochi and Indian Navy on 5th January.
Kerala Premier League - How is Group B placed?
In Group B, the action is spiced up with fixtures of current champions Gokulam Kerala. In the 3 matches that have been played out so far, Golden Threads, FC Kerala and Gokulam Kerala have emerged victorious.
The match on 28th December saw Threads being thrashed by FC Kerala 7-1, thanks to the brilliant performances from Keralite Usman and Nigerian forward Ekomobong Philip.
FC Kerala currently top the group with 3 points and are closely followed by Golden Threads, who are second with the same number of points. To keep things interesting, Gokulam Kerala too have 3 points and are at the 3rd position, separated by goal difference.
The other two spots are filled by Kozhikode Quartz, who are yet to play their first match and Kovalam FC, beaten twice as of now.
Group B is expected to showcase some serious competing football with the current champions and FC Kerala all close in the run. All the eyes will be on the match between Kozhikode Quartz and Kovalam FC on 6th January as a win for either side can change the complexity of the group.
Kerala Premier League - the format
The league has been structured with semi-finals to follow the group stages. The top two teams from both the groups will be promoted to the knockouts. In a short and exciting league like the KPL, the action is always on and predictions are mostly wrong.
While FC Thrissur, Kozhikode Quartz and SAT along with winners Gokulam Kerala made it to the knockouts last season, Kerala Blasters and RFC Kochi are already dangers to their spots. The league is expected to gain a lot of fan base and popularity because of its close competition and brilliant display from the youngsters.
