Thrissur outmaneuvered host Malappuram with a tactical and flexible gameplan to win 2-1 and enter the final of the 59th Senior State inter-district football championship at the Kottappadi stadium here on Friday.
Malappuram dominated the first half but Thrissur did well to restrict the damage to one goal. Thrissur, after finding the equaliser early in the second half, played possession football and attacked in bursts to unsettle the Malappuram defence.
Thrissur’s highline defence neutralised the early threat from Malappuram and right winger Jishnu Balakrishnan often found himself in an off-side position However, the high-risk defending had its pitfalls as Junain Kadvalath broke the off-side trap to put Malappuram ahead in the 26th minute.
