Thiruvananthapuram Kombans rally from 2-0 down to beat Malappuram FC on penalties in Super League Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC recovered from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Malappuram FC 4–2 on penalties after a 2–2 draw at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on 11 October 2026 in the final game of Round 3 fixtures of the Super League Kerala 2026. Trailing 2–0 into stoppage time, the Kombans scored twice in added time and advanced thanks to goalkeeper Satyajit’s two penalty saves in the shootout.
Malappuram signalled early intent when Prasad controlled a pass from Lforzi and unleashed a curling effort in the seventh minute that cleared the crossbar. The breakthrough arrived in the 14th minute when Eflorsy slipped a through-ball from deep into Amadou Soukouna, who controlled and produced an acrobatic bicycle kick to make it 1–0. Soukouna nearly doubled the lead in the 35th minute but Satyajit kept the shot out, and Arjun struck the Kombans’ crossbar later in the half as Malappuram went into the break leading 1–0.
Malappuram made an early second-half change by bringing Rashid into the attack. In the 49th minute Soukouna set up Daniel Lallawmpuia, whose low attempt was kept out via a goal-line clearance from Stephen Acquah. Thiruvananthapuram introduced Sravan and Portuguese forward João Paredes to add urgency to their frontline.
The visitors extended their advantage in the 64th minute when sub Muhammed Riswan finished off a pass from Rashid to make it 2–0. That strike left Malappuram seemingly in complete control as the match entered its latter stages. The Kombans, however, mounted a late response beginning in stoppage time.
Thiruvananthapuram struck twice in added time to force penalties, with Joseph Gordon scoring in the 90+1st minute and Tadayu Emos converting in the 90+7th minute to level the match 2–2. Those two goals, scored just before the final whistle, took the contest directly to a penalty shootout. The referee sent both teams to spot-kicks with the game tied at full time.
In the shootout Kombans goalkeeper Satyajit saved penalties from Abdul Samad and Daniel Lalhlimpuia as Thiruvananthapuram won 4–2 on spot-kicks. The victory came without a 90-minute win for the Kombans so far in the competition, and both of their wins to date have been decided by penalty shoot-outs.
With this result and after three rounds of fixtures, Thiruvananthapuram Kombans move up to fourth place in the standings with four points and a goal difference of -2, while Malappuram FC sit fifth with two points and a goal difference of -1. The Thiruvananthapuram Kombans will play their next SLK match on the 16th of October 2026 against Forca Kochi at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
