Match Day Report – Group A – Maharashtra Vs West Bengal
In the second match of Group A in 72nd Santosh Trophy we saw an exciting match between Maharashtra and Bengal at the Sailen Manna Stadium, Howrah.
Once kick – off took place Bengal were attacking from right to left and Maharashtra from left to right. In the second minute Bengal got an early chance but a heavy through ball from captain Jiten Murmu resulted in the ball going away from the Bengal attacker. Bengal won their first corner in the third minute and Tirthankar Sarkar floated the ball efficiently but it was headed away by the Maharashtra defence. Bengal looked like the better of the two sides in the initial minutes as they won another corner in the fourth minute.
Bengal were trying their luck with Sumit Das who was called for an offside in the initial moments. Maharashtra were finding it difficult to build any momentum. They were constantly struggling to keep possession of the ball. In the fifth minute a terrific run was made by Bidyashagar Singh who then passed it to Jiten Murmu who led a crack at the goal but was saved by the keeper.
In the ninth minute Leander Dharmai scored for Maharashtra against the run of play. In defensive mistake by Maharashtra Babun Das grabbed the opportunity and took a long shot but the ball went flying over the cross bar.
Bengal constantly tried to build an attack but constructive play looked missing. Maharashtra .In the twenty fourth minute Bengal missed a sitter in front of the goal with Sumit Das behind it. In the twenty ninth minute both teams went into water break as the humid day seems to be playing its part.
Bengal were close to scoring in the thirty seventh minute but a poor touch from forward Jiten Murmu let the team down. Bengal were creating ample opportunities chances but their finishing was letting them down. Goalkeeper Manav Baraskar was efficient in reading most the crosses and collected the ball again and again. Poor defending by Bengal led Maharashtra to doubling the lead but the danger was averted by Bengal.
Four minutes were added before halftime as Bengal tried to score their solitary goal before the end of first half. Just after the first half we saw Sumit Das and Bidyashagar Singh swapped wings because they were being marked . Bengal were trying to open their mark whereas Maharashtra were efficient in averting all possible attacks.
Maharashtra started the second half with Bengal making an early attack followed by excellent dribbling by Sumit Das. Maharashtra defence somehow survived a flurry of attacks.
Maharashtra goalkeeper Manav Baraskar faced a mild injury scare in the fifty third minute . A goal from the defender Monotosh Chakladar equalised for Bengal from Ankit Mukherjee’s cross. Maharashtra restarted the game and looked to build up an attack. In the first substitution for Maharashtra goalkeeper Manav Baraskar went off due to an injury and Faizan Akhtar replaced him at the goal for Maharashtra.
Captain Jiten Murmy finally hit a beautiful header in the sixtieth minute but the goal was disallowed due to a foul against him. However in the next two minutes Bengal won a free kick outside the box with beautiful assist by Tirthankar Sarkar that led to an absolute finesse header by Jiten Murmu into the back of the net.
In the second substitution for Maharashtra Sahil Bhokare was brought in, in place of the injured right back Nikhil Prabhu. Bengal kept trying to penetrate with progressive runs but were stopped by the defenders of Maharashtra. Midfielder Sumit Das was having a bad day as in an attempt to give a fine pass he lost the ball.
There was a second water break for both the teams in the seventy sixth minute. Bidyasagar Singh showed some excellent skill by making an inch perfect pass across the goal but Maharashtra hit it out for a corner.
Maharashtra looked desperate for a goal but were not able to make the attacks count. In the first substitution for Bengal Sujay Dutta came in for Sumit Das. Bidyashagar Singh scores the third goal for Bengal in the seventy ninth minute increasing the lead by two. Bengal were completely dominating the game . Bidyashagar Singh scores his second goal in the eighty second minute and gave Bengal a three goal lead over Maharashtra. In Bengal’s second substitution captain Jiten Murmu was sent off and forward Rajon Barman replaced the captain. In what appeared to be the final substitution for Bengal Tirthankar Sarkar was sent off and was replaced by Sanchayan Samadder. Substitue Sujay Dutta made two attempts from a pass by Sanchayan Samadder but it hit the Maharashtra defender. Super sub Rajon Barman scored majestic goal with an excellent volley in the eighty ninth minute extending Bengal’s lead by 4 goals.
Four minutes of injury time were added at the end of the ninety minutes. In the dying moments of the match Bengal were looking forward to score with Bidyashagar Singh coming very close to scoring the sixth goal but the Maharashtra goalkeeper Faizan Akhtar saved it this time. An emphatic victory for team Bengal as they come from behind to score five goals in the second half to register Bengal’s second win in the final round of 72nd edition Santosh Trophy.
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