Kochi, 11th January: The Zonal Group Stage of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) in Kerala kicked off with ecstatic match action at the Maharajas Ground in Ernakulam on Thursday.
Six teams – Muthoot FA, Kerala Blasters FC, Gokulam Kerala FC, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Kickstart FC and Roots FC, from South and Kerala regions qualified for the Zonal Group Stage after finishing in the qualifying spots in the Regional Qualifiers stage of the competition.
On the opening matchday at the Maharajas Ground in Ernakulam, Gokulam Kerala FC played out a thrilling 2-2 draw against Muthoot FA. Muthoot FA – who had reached the National Championship stage and also featured in the Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup 2024 held in the United Kingdom, started on the strong foot in the match taking a two-goal lead in the first half, courtesy of strikes from Abith K B and Naseef P. However, Gokulam Kerala drew inspiration from impact substitute Nandhu Krishna A, who struck twice in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
The second match of the day between Sreenidi Deccan FC and Kickstart FC Karnataka also ended up in a draw. The two sides equalled each other in all the departments throughout the match, settling for a goalless stalemate at full-time.
The final fixture of the opening day saw Kerala Blasters FC edge Roots FC in a five-goal thriller. The young guns of the Indian Super League side went firing on all cylinders, taking a two-goal lead in the first half itself. For the Blasters, Sreekuttan M S opened the scoring in the first half for the Blasters while their skipper Ebindas Y doubled the lead just before the break. Following the restart, Roots FC showed signs of comeback with substitute Yohann Britto pulling one back. However, Sreekuttan M S completed his brace late into the game meaning Darshan V’s injury time goal for Roots FC went in vain as the matters ended 3-2 in favour of Kerala Blasters.
“We target nothing but the best so we are going to try and win all the matches as much as possible to qualify for the final round,” quoted Noel Joseph, the Assistant Coach of the Kerala Blasters Reserves team.
“After 17 years of age, we didn’t have a lot of opportunities for the young players but play for the senior teams. And we know that not a lot of young players make it to the senior teams. But now with competitions like this, the U-21s and even some of the U-23s get to play, which means more opportunities to them. More than that, the players get to play at different venues and rub shoulders with other players from different cultures, so they are getting a lot of exposure,” he added.
The Zonal Group Stage will see 24 teams play 10 matches each with a total of 30 games being played in each zone, resulting in a total of 120 encounters. Top three sides from each group, rounding off to 12 teams, will qualify for the subsequent stage of RFDL 2025, that is the National Group Stage.
RFDL Zonal Group Stage – Kerala Fixtures:
Monday, 13th January 2025
Venue: Maharajas Ground, Ernakulam
7:30 AM | Gokulam Kerala vs Kickstart FC
10:00 AM | Kerala Blasters FC vs Sreenidi Deccan FC
3:30 PM | Roots FC vs Muthoot FA
