Kerala edges out Bengal; finishes on top of group A!

by Spandan Paul March 28, 2018

27^th March’18, Kolkata– Kerala cruised into the semi-finals of 72^nd Santosh Trophy as the group A topper when they edged past the defending champion West Bengal 1-0,here at Mohun Bagan Ground,on Tuesday afternoon.

It was a last gasp winner by Rahul KP in the 89^th minute which etched out the difference between these two “giants” of Santosh Trophy. Both the teams had already qualified for semi-final but West Bengal needed a clear-cut win to emerge as group toppers; while even a draw for the Keralites would’ve seen them finishing at the top; courtesy 14 goals plundered by them till then.

Both the teams gave rest to their key players and made 4 changes to the first choice starting line up.

In the Kerala starting XI, Jestin George, Jithin Gopalan, Jiyad Hassan and Midhun V made way for Hajmal S, Sreerag G, Shamnas BL and Vibin Thomas. In Bengal line up Jiten Murmu, Tirthankar Sankar, Monotosh Chakladar and Sumit Das was given a day off as Sujoy Dutta ,Sourav Majumder, Sandip Bhattacharya and Rajen Burman took the field,

It was Bengal who started looking sharper of the two teams and enjoyed better possession in the initial few minutes. They had the first chance of the match in the 6^th minute when U-21 forward Sandip Bhattacharya got an opening in the box but his crack at the goal swayed over the crossbar.

5 minutes later, Kerala won a free-kick just outside Bengal’s penalty box after Jithin MS was brought down. It was their first major chance to score but Lijo S’ shot sailed above the crossbar. Jithin was particularly threatening every time he got the ball from the right flanks and his uncanny speed was a reason for concern to the Bengal defence.

Bengal got the best chance of the first half in 33^rd minute from a promising movement down the right; orchestrated by Bidyshagar Singh and Sandip. Bengal should’ve scored then only but Sujoy Dutta, the attacking winger failed to tap in a lovely cross from Bidyashagar from a very close range which drew him flak from the home crowd. Sujoy, although had a better outing than most of his teammate as he had the Kerala backline on toes with his incisive runs through the flanks.

Bengal got another opportunity at the stroke of the half-time courtesy a brilliant movement initiated by Bidyashagar from the left and Ankit, the makeshift captain released a bisecting pass to Rajen whose touch towards right was too long for Sujoy as Kerala goalie came off the line, diving to gather the ball and both the sides went into the break goalless.

Second half saw Kerala shifting their gears and played with more intent. In the 56^th minute Jithin MS barged in from the right going past the defenders but Bengal custodian Ranajit rushed out and inflicted a crucial one –on-one save to deny the prolific U-21 goalscorer.

Kerala again had a glorious opportunity in the 69^th minute when Jithin MS sprinted down the right flank and provides a threatening cross to Afdal in the middle of the box. Afdal chested it down far enough for Sourav Dasgupta to make a crucial, timely clearance. The Bengal defender got injured in the process immediately, and had to be replaced by number one choice Krishna Biswas at the back.

Bengal had the best chance of the whole match in the 81^st minute through their prolific winger Bidyashagar Singh. He made a solo run through the right and dribbled past two defenders and the goalkeeper- who came off the line and narrowed down the angle. But there was no support with the highest goalscorer of the hosts as Bidyashagar saw his square pass cleared by the Keralite goalkeeper who recovered in time to track back.

Just when it seemed the last group A encounter might result in a stalemate, Rahul KP slotted home a late winner in the 89^th  for the southern side. Jithin was again in the forefront of the move as he sprinted down the right flank and sent a low cross inside the box. Rahul  KP was at the right position in the right time and found the back of the net with a well-measured shot as Bengal defence looked on, stunned.

Bengal apart from that last gasp goal had another factor to rue about, as midfielder Bubun Das and defender Sourav Majunder suffered serious injury and might not be able to participate any longer in the championship.

Thus Kerala finished on the top of group A winning all of their group encounters and will face Karnataka, Punjab or Goa in the semi-final while  Bengal might run into high flying Mizoram as the north-eastern side has a huge probability of finishing on the top of group B.