This is Kerala’s 6th Santosh Trophy title after they had beaten Punjab 3-2 in the extra time; way back in 2004, October; thus ending a drought of more than 13 years. Incidentally this was the first time in 10 instance, that Bengal didn’t came out on top even after hosting it and had to be satisfied with their 13th runners up finish in the National Football Championship.

Bengal tried  to take the early initiative with forward balls as soon as the play started.Captain Jiten Murmu won the first free-kick for Bengal  in the 2nd minute from a strong position. Tirthankar Sarakar barged into the box with the  the ball and Kerala barely managed to clear it. Kerala reciprocated the same with the forward ball but was brilliantly shielded by Sourav Dasgupta led Bengal defense. Sumit Das, thereafter  tried to penetrate  but was fouled by Lijo S and the referee Crystal John was spot on.

Tirthankar Sarkar again was the chance creator for Bengal with a free-kick from the left, causing mayhem in the defence lines but was somehow cleared by Kerala in the sixth minute. It was a golden chance for Bengal from a cross  but Captain Jiten Murmu failed to get the required power behind the header. But as the play rolled on Kerala started to come into their own as Bengal were unable to catch up with the Kerala’s pace. Jithin MS particularly was a tremendous force from the flanks where he continuously switched with Rahul KP while Ankit Mukherjee of Bengal was assigned to mark him.

Bengal tried to attack again from the right flank but a misplaced pass gave back the possession to Kerala as  Kerala went on to get the lead in the 19th minute . A beautiful pass from Seesan split open the Bengal defense and allowed Jithin MS to break through and coolly nutmeg the goalkeeper to give his side the breakthrough, followed by him crying out in pain, as he went down after being on the receiving end of an elbow from Ankit Mukherjee.

A couple of minutes later Bengal had a free kick from the left  edge of the box  by Tirthankar  but Prosenjit Paul’s headerwent straight into the hands of the goalkeeper. Bengal had a rare opening in front of the goal  and when they finally got through with Ankit netting it, the off-side whistle went off , much to the dissent of bewildered home fans. While Bengal enjoyed home support Kerala had Manjapadda army from Delhi coming all the way to Kolkata to make their side feel at home.

Kerala increased the tempo suddenly  piled up attacks from the right flank but Ankit Mukherjee successfully handled the onslaught.  Ankit switched the sides as Jithin MS did the same and had yet another attack towards the woodwork. Sumit Das showed some wonderful skills on the left flank but the Kerala defence stuck together to deny Bengal any major breathing space. Jithin glided twice on the counter-attack to get past Ankit through left. and put a nice cross down the middle but was well intercepted by Bengal.

Kerala  had another glorious opportunity when Afdal VK  went one on one against Sourav Dasgupta but his shot was just wide of the target as Sourav Dasgupta got the first booking of the match with a rough foul on the Keralite forward.  Kerala come close to scoring another goal  in the additional four minutes before the end of first half.’but they missed a golden chance in front of the goal in spite of the defensive faults by Bengal. Just after that Bengal had an attack with Jiten Murmu trapping and taking a turn to shoot it  but a brilliant block by Vibin Thomas saved Kerala’s blushes.

Bengal needed to get their finishing better to retain any hopes of 33rd title and thus Rajon Burman came on for Sumit Das to bolster Bengal’s attack. But rather it was Kerala who had the control over the proceedingRahul KP looked dangerous through the left and beat  his man to send in a dangerous ball into the middle which was caught by Ranajit. Bengal have been dominating possession, but were yet  to do anything special so far. Kerala missed a sitter as a beautiful pass from the right but was squandered by Anurag P.C who missed infront of a wide open goal. Bengal conceded a yellow card via  Tirthankar Sarkar. Kerala’s defence showed it’s quality as all the attacks by Bengal were deftly dealt with by them.

Bengal equalized in the sixty eight minute as the VYBK erupted with noise. Jiten Murmu scored the goal after a pass by Rajon Barman, from the right as the bengal skipper dived to connect a volley that settled into the back of the net, giving Ranjan Chowdhury, the bengal coach, a sigh of relief. Kerala had a substitution in the dying moments of the match as U-21 Sreekuttan VS was  on for another U-21 Anurag PC.

Both the teams slowed down in the thirty minutes owing to the tiring halves. Tirthankar appeared to be the sole member in the Bengal team who seemed to try to reduce the lead with sudden movements. Kerala had the  advantage  in the last eight minutes when Rajon Burman was sent off in the 112th minute owing to a red card  following a glaring miss off a threatening chance .Sandip Bhattacharjee sprinted down to the end to play a through ball to Rajon. The striker’s second touch was poor and the ball went too ahead of him with Midhun coming  out to collect the ball only to have Rajon’s boot hit his face, for which referee Crystal John did not hesitate to produce the red card.

The game-changer came in the 116th minute as Kerala took advantage of the extra man and substitute  Jestin George’s cross from the left was headed home by Vibin Thomas. Just as it seemed Kerala had wrapped up the final ,footballing gods gave them shivers as Tirthankar made sure Bengal was still in the game  as he converted from a free kick  in the sixth minute of injury time, taking the game to the penalty shootouts ,dramatically.

Ankit Mukherjee  and Nabi Hussain Khan missed the first two attempts for Bengal as Midhun pulled off a save on both the occasions.Tirthankar and Sanchayan Samadder’s conversion did not help Bengal  as Kerala scored all the penalties starting  with captain  Rahul V Raj, Jithin Gopalan and Jestin George all scoring.

For the final kick ,captain  Jiten Murmu donned the gloves instead of goalie Ranajit Majumdar  but Seesan S’s  shot went past the striker to deliver Kerala their fourteenth Hero Santosh Trophy after a thirteen-season gap.

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The much awaited final of the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy is here and one can expect some intense action in the VYBK Salt Lake stadium where defending champions West Bengal will be squaring off against the Southern Giants Kerala who are unbeaten in this campaign. While this is 45th summit showdown for the 32 time champion Bengal , it is the 14th final appearance by the 5-time champion Kerala.

Both Kerala and West Bengal were  part of Group A that consisted of five teams vying for  entry into the semi-finals of the tournament. It was Kerala who emerged as topper of that group with 12 points, conceding only one goal till now. West Bengal who will be looking forward to their 33rd win finished with 9 points to confirm their presence in the semis of the national tournament . Incidentally their only loss came against Kerala.

West Bengal’s coach Mr.Ranjan Chaudhuri has a goliath task upfront, in the final ,as they have lost to Kerala in the last match of the final round of the group stage matches. West Bengal recruited  5 players from Mohammedan Sporting   Club while Tarun Sangha Club from Shyamnagar  provided 7 players for this campaign .Sanchayan  Sammadder made his way from Mohan Bagan’s youth team and will dedicate this win to his childhood mentor Mr.Amiya Ghosh who shaped up his football career after the loss of his parents at an early age. Biyashagar Singh has been training with the East Bengal team and expects to get a big break after his wonderful campaign in the 72nd edition of Santosh trophy.

Bengal coach Ranjan Chowdhuri believes that the loss against Kerala is enough to motivate his players to win and give in double their efforts. It is really commendable performance that this Bengal team has produced in this tournament without much practice and game time as a team. Credit definitely goes to the coach who applied some unique strategies to bring about momentum in the team. Although he did not get time to practice with his team, he had the confidence in them and brought about minor changes and gave them the discretion to play freely. Inspite of lack of training opportunities together as a team, he wanted the team to gel together particularly in certain positions.

The two forwards, captain Jiten Murmu and forward Rajon Burman shared one room. Each winger had a midfielder assigned to stay with them in the same room like midfielder Ankit Mukherjee coupled with Bidyshagar Singh and Tirthankar Sarkar coupled with Sumit Das. The main men behind the defense Sourav Dasgupta and Prosenjit Paul were companions in their stay so far. This strategy seemed effective so far as the team performed well and the motive of bringing in synchronization in the team as per positions were very much evident. West Bengal will be looking forward to wing plays owing to large size of the field in Salt Lake Stadium as compared to the other venues at Howrah, Mohan Bagan and Rabindra Sarobar.

Kerala who have been unbeaten in their campaign so far will be looking forward to their compact defense to hold the ambush from the Bengal side. The fifteen days of practice before the group stage matches included practice matches mostly to give the players real game experiences. Captain Rahul V Raj will be leading his team from the defense with the support of players like Sreerag G and Lijo  S who have collectively defended well against the highlanders Mizoram stopping them from scoring a goal; which was tipped to be a tough task. The Kerala goalkeeper Midhun V has been in his peak form ,with some amazing saves that completes the defense line. Their main man Seesan S cannot be left unmarked owing to capability of supplying balls during an attack and falling behind to help his defenders every time there’s an ambush. Their main worry will be containing Bidyashagar Das and cutting his supply line from Tirthankar Sarkar, the Bengal play-maker who is almost certain to be man-marked.

Bengal Midfielder Ankit Mukherjee will have an important role to play in trying to anticipate every move made by Jithin MS down the flanks, who can prove dangerous at any moment with his incisive runs and impeccable speed.Bengal defensive midfielders Monotosh Chakladar and Sanchayan Sammadar might have the task to cut the supply line by majorly blocking Rahul KP and Jithin G down the middle and keep a constant check on their timely and progressive penetration.

Kerala coach and national team selector Mr.Satheevan Balan is proud of the youngsters in his team and believes that he has the best lot of youth in the entire tournament. He lauded his goalkeeper Midhun V who has held his ground and has been rock-solid for the team owing to the support of experienced defenders in the back. The coach may look for a defensive approach in the first half like he was doing in few of the previous matches and may adopt for an attacking strategy in the second half once the opponents have exhausted out.

This will be a battle of individual brilliance of Bengal  VS organized team work of Kerala as the footballing powerhouse of the country gets ready to stamp their dominance in the national football championship. The match starts at 2.30 pm.

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Karnataka attacked from left to right while West Bengal attacked from right to left. Karnataka with an attack from the left and in the fourth minute and a cut back lead to a pass with a shot from edge of the box. The ball took  a deflection and went  out for a corner.Karnataka with yet another  chance let the ball go across the face of the goal without causing any harm.Karnataka with another free kick in the sixth minute as captain Vignesh Gunashekar took an outstep which was chipped away by the Bengal side. Bengal won another free-kick for themselves and Tirthankar Sarkar with a cross into the box but was cleared by the Karnataka defence. Monotosh Chakladar took a right foot drive but the ball went wide of the target. Leon Augustine continued with another attack as he tried a shot inside but was blocked by Sourav Dasgupta.Karnataka again with an attacking move and a cross into the box and finally cleared by the Bengal defence.

Karnataka continued with a number of passes leading to their build-up with  a long pass that went straight to the Bengal goalkeeper.Bengal with Tirthankar Sarkar assisting to U-21 midfielder Bidyashagar Singh but a poor cross let them down.A corner for  Karnataka in the nineteenth minute was blocked leading to a counter by captain Jiten Murmu followed by an excellent run by midfielder Sumit Das  yet the pass could not convert into a goal.

Karnataka now on the attack again with Leon Augstine’s cross into the box and was headed for corner by a bengal defender.Karnataka tried to penetrate the Bengal defence but failed this   time and a throw-in for Bengal. Tirthankar Sarkar had  a wonderful forward ball to Bidyashagar Singh in twenty fifth minute and his cross results in hand-ball and a free-kick for Bengal at the edge of the box.Tirthankar Sarkar with the free-kick and he almost scored with his left foot . Dangerous ball into the box from the right by forward Rajesh S but safely cleared by the Bengal defence.

Cooling break for both the teams in the thirtieth minute. Teams were back on the field and were all set to resume proceedings with a throw-in for Bengal.

Bengal with a pass from the left flank but went  straight to the goalkeeper.Midfielder Sumit Das with some wonderful skills in the opponent’s box and almost created a goal scoring chance but Karnataka’s defence was alert and cleared the ball out of danger.Bengal shoots from distance but in vain with some better intent after the break but failing to make any in roads.Free-kick for Karnataka in the thirty eight minute because of high boot by Ankit Mukherjee of Bengal. Corner from Rajesh with no success. Bengal goalie Ranajit Majumder lured medical attention.

Karnataka with a throw-in and a run down the right by Karnataka but was blocked by defender Sourav Dasgupta.Karnataka again dominating the ball possession and a move to find an opening in the Bengal defence. A cross by forward Rajesh S but the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

Karnataka again with a chance but  defender Monotosh Chakladar cleared the ball for a corner kick. Four minutes of added time at the end of the first half.Bengal trying to build up an attack and a fine pass by Tirthankar Sarkar into the box but a timely header by the Karnataka defence saved the team from danger in the third minute of extra time. Match  restarted with no.13 defender Krishna Biswas replaced for midfielder Sanchayan Sammadar.

Bengal saw more of the ball in the first three minutes of the second half. Tirthankar Sarkar with a shot at the goal but the same was off target.Tirthankar Sarkar with an inch perfect froward ball in the fiftieth minute but Bidyashagar Singh let the attack down with a weak pass.Karnataka tried  to build an attack now but Bengal playing with real intent and intercepts the cross.An opening goal for Bengal in the fifty seventh minute as Sumit Das’s assist was toed inside by captain Jiten Murmu.Karnataka now trying to build up a move of their own and now from the left flank but Bengal managed to clear it with a last ditch tackle in the sixty fourth minute. A substitution for Karnataka as No.16 Edwin Rossario went off and No.18 Shamanth Dodda came on in the sixty seventh minute.The wants for goals continued as an excellent pass from Sumit Das led  the crack from Bidyashagar that  lacked power and was saved.A indirect free-kick inside the box for Karnataka in the seventy seventh minute and danger loomed large for the Bengal goal

Tirthankar Sarkar was almost through with an outstanding run  as he collided with the goalkeeper of Karnataka not being able to check his run.Bengal with another goal scoring chance as Bidyashagar Singh got a chance to shoot but the shot went  way off target in the eighty fourth minute.Karnataka continued their attack as the midfield seemed to break apart yet the defenders were  quick to action each time.Five minutes of extra time were added.The final substitution for Bengal as Sujay Dutta came in for Sumit Das.

Captain Jiten Murmu wins a free-kick right at the edge of the box as he is brought down from the back in the first minute of extra time.  Tirthankar Sarakar with an amazing free-kick to doubled the lead for Bengal and sealed the deal.West Bengal have made it to the Finals of the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy.

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Punjab started the  kick-off and were  attacking from left to right of the field and Goa were attacking from right to left of the field.Goa were in  yellow and Punjab were  in white,with a compulsory win for both the sides .The weather seemed hot and humid and match was played in the  Howrah Municipal Corporation Stadium.

From the very first minute Punjab were right on the attack carrying it  forward from their last match form with an early pass into the box that led to an acrobatic clearance from Goa. Goa  retaliated with an attack from the third minute  trying  a long shot and was  blocked by the defence with the rebound being collected by another Goa player who took the ball out of play and the danger passed away.There was another run by Goa down the left side but the cross went over the line for a goal kick in the very next minute.

Goa had their first golden opportunity in the seventh minute as captain Victorino Fernandes created a chance on the left and  passed it to midfielder Nestor Dias for a shot who missed the target.Goa tried to attack and lost the ball in the mid-field enabling  Punjab  to force a counter attack but the shot from a  distance by forward Baltej Singh  went flying wayward.  Goa awakened by the attack  tried  to put together structured passes but lost the ball in front of the opponents box.

Goa won their first free-kick and tried to start and attack down the left but the ball was  beautifully won off the feet by Punjab . Goa continuing their attack in the nineteenth minute from the right flank  and pushed a. cross into the box. Nestor Dias collected  the ball but was  fouled and won a  free-kick on the left flank now with no success.Captain Victorino Fernandes made  wonderful run from a north side and a  clearance was well received by the Goan who tried to  push it right across the net but deflected after hitting the inside of the post.Goa with their first yellow card in the twenty sixth minute in the form of midfielder Kapil Hoble . Midfielder Mackroy Peixoto opened the mark for Goa in the twenty sixth minute that was continued by captain Victorino Fernandes who doubled the lead for Goa with an inch perfect finish.There was a cooling break for both the teams to regroup in the twenty ninth minute.

Match restarted after the cooling break in the thirty second minute with a substitute at the same time as captain Sarbjit was replaced and no.5 Sukhjit Singh was brought in.Punjab were attacking with more intent as they were looking forward the close the gap . Punjab continued with another build up and looked to find space down the left side with Jitender Rawat twisting and turning ultimately firing a crack with the shot being blocked.Goa continued with their  the attack via captain Victorino.Five minutes were added as Punjab continued their pursuit for goals before the first half.

In the second half there was a second substitution for Punjab as they took off No.5 Sukhjit Singh and brought in No.15 Kamaldeep Singh.Peter Carvalho was fouled in the fifty fifth minute winning a free-kick for Goa with Shubert Pereira with a shot at the goal and a diving save by the goalkeeper of Punjab Moses Anthony  kept them in the game. There was yellow card for Punjab as  No.7 Sunny fouled upon  Shubert.There was an injury for Punjab as no.12  midfielder Amandeep Singh  was taken off the field on a stretcher and Kamaldeep Singh replaced him. Rajat Kumar received  a yellow card from Punjab in the seventy first minute.Nestor Dias increased the lead with an excellent header from a corner that gave Goa their third goal followed by Shubert Pereira adding to the double brace for the team in thr sixty seventh minute

Jitender Rawat attacked with a cross from left side of the box and a header  from the Punjab side was a easy save for Goa goalkeeper.Punjab had another opportunity as forward Jaskaranpreet Singh had  another chance yet a loose shot from his side found no success.Punjab advanced with a positive move in the eighty sixth minute  but we’re  stalled by Goa leading  another attack from the Goan with a chance for  the fifth goal but defender  Mohd. Asif stalled Victorino from scoring.

A second  substitution for Goa as No.18 Clive Miranda was on and  No.17 midfielder Shubert Pereira was called off in the eighty sixth minute.In the very next minute there was the final substitution for Goa as No.12  Clinton Niasso came in for the  captain Victorino.

Punjab had another chance  to reduce the lead with a penalty in the eighty eight minute that was saved as  Kamaldeep was denied the goal by  Melroy Fernandes. Goa were in sublime form in all departments. Six minutes of were  added at the end of the game to give opportunities to the north side that found  Gurtej Singh with an excellent goal in the fourth minute of extra time opening Punjab’s account.In the dying moments of the game there were some heated moments on the referee’s decision that led to yellow card for Jitender Rawat and a red card for Karan Atwal.

Goa would have qualified had Karnataka not won the match against Mizoram.It was a do or die situation for Karnataka as if would knock them out if Punjab won today.

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The emerging football capital of India, Manipur put up a great show in the early moments of the match with two goals from successful penalties that put them on a lead .They maintained good possession of the ball and looked more composed in their attacks as they compared to their last matches. However they felt the game slipping out of their hands when Maharashtra with continuously ambushing the north-east side with their constant attacks.

The Manipur coach Mr.Ratan Elangbam was not available for comments on the game, after their terrible loss but however had pointed out a few prevailing mistakes later on little coaxing and convincing. He was disappointed with the performance of their second choice goalkeeper Loitongbam Bombom Singh who proved inefficient  and conceded a horde of goals after his replacement with captain Salam Dinakumar Singh at the goal. Loitongbam could not stand his ground and motivate his players from the back leading to constant attacks from the western side with many goal scoring opportunities, but with a few completing for success.

The coach also expressed concerns over disparity with the state association over the quality of players and inadequate practice sessions  that led to their downfall. The Manipuri dream of seeing a north-east team in the finals was shattered, however the Mizoram side will be looking forward to keep up with their name and continue the winning pursuit.

Maharashtra literally massacred the northeastern side of Manipur with a total of seven goals in their last and final match from the group stage qualifiers. The coach of the western side Mr.Augusto Wilson D’Silva showed concerns about the referee’s decision of fouls given on his players. He believes there should have been a better call and judgment for the first penalty conceded by them in the early moments of the game. The coach lauded his players as they had better possession of the ball and were able to build progressive formations thus troubling the Manipuri side. However his team lacked the final finish ,which was something the coach emphasized on before the match.

Midfielder  Leander Dharmai who was brought in as a substitute ,also proved very effective for his team with immense versatility as a striker ,as well as midfielder .The coordination in the passing among the players seemed to improve with his onset to the field. On defender Nikhil Prabhu’s  request the coach allowed him into the field to play in  Captain Dion Menezes ‘s position, enabling the captain to push forward in pursuit of more goals to book six points in their account. The coach had concerns with midfielder Advait Shinde  who could possibly lure an injury. He undoubtedly has good  dribbling skills  but however was becoming a little late to release the ball to forward Ranjeet Singh who scored a hat trick later in the game.

Mr.D’Silva felt that forward Ranjeet Singh was not up to the mark in the previous two games owing to difficulties like pressure from home crowd Bengal and the adverse climate which took a toll on the western side. Better tomorrows come from hard work today. The coach was happy as the team grew with each match, learned new things eventually and got accustomed to the situation finally resulting in an outstanding win.

Forward Ranjeet Singh scored a terrific hat trick in the match against Manipur after a long dry spell. He was happy with the outcome but however felt that had he started his pursuit a little earlier then probably his team would have qualified. Expectations from the Union bank of India’s forward were high ,however he kept up to his name with an awesome performance in the final match of the final round of group stage matches. Ranjeet Singh has dreams of playing in the I-League with uncertainty in the choice of team ,but says that his dream has just started and he is available as per the team’s requirements.

The last game for both the teams turned out to be a great experience as they will continue to work hard ,setting an example for this year’s 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy,2018.

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On the other side we had a chat with Mr.Murali Dharan P ,the coach of the Karnataka team who seemed quite motivated even after losing the match against the northern side. Team Manager Mr.Kumar M was positive about their next game against Mizoram and was of the opinion that it was a pressure on them to qualify and not on the north eastern side as they made their cut in to the semi finals. Mr.Murali Dharan was not disappointed with his team’s performance as he believes that  luck also played a major role in that game. Karnataka had a number of golden opportunities at the goal which was either missing the goal by inches or was being  cleared by the Punjab defense. There was a little disappointment in the coach’s mind caused by defender Shafeel PP who’s performance was not up to the mark and also because of referee’s decision of adding  eight extra minutes after full time  as compared to the fifteen minutes thought by him.  The South coach was of the opinion that the level of competition in Santosh Trophy was deteriorating because of the compulsory rule of having five under-21 players in the entire squad  giving more stress and focus on youngsters lacking the essence of experienced players. The food did not seem to be of much trouble as compared to problems faced by the Kerala side .Team Manager Mr.Kumar M said, ”We need to adjust to the food, not let food adjust according to us” as the ingredients were the same, just with a difference in the style of cooking . The Karnataka team surely mean some serious business here in this tournament. The coach commended the Punjab’s physical built  of players and believes that their next game against Mizoram on 28th March  is a  Do-Or-Die match for them where they are positive about a success, after a hard clash with the north side.

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A  wonderful effort by forward Luton Shil  missed  the goal by an inch.Karnataka with a build up that upset the Punjab defence and a powerful shot was  beautifully saved by the Punjab goalkeeper. Karnataka played an array of hopeful balls into the box in order to find an attacker but with  not much success.A Yellow card for Shafeel PP from made matters worse for Karnataka in the dying moments of the match in the eighty fourth minute. A final change for Punjab Sukhjit Singh was  brought in, and midfielder Gurtej Singh out.In the final substitution for Karnataka saw No. 30 Shaik Muzeeb come in for No.9 Suresh Leon K who just took a freekick with no success and then found his out of the field.

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Maharashtra moved straight into the Kerala defense and the counter attack yielded led them to concede a penalty. A penalty in favor of Kerala was given the twenty fifth minute. Kerala captain Rahul Raj took the kick and scored the goal as the goalkeeper dived to the wrong side

In a corner in the twenty sixth minute Maharashtra got a dangerous flying ball and the floater was headed without any danger by the southern defenders that lead to counter attack which could double the lead but was well contained by Maharashtra. A cooling break was given the twenty ninth minute owing to high humidity and soaring temperatures and a throw in helped to resume play.

Kerala received a yellow in the form of No.4 defender Jestin George and the free kick was taken by Maharashtra with no player to gather the ball at the far post

Kerala made a run down the right flank through forward Anurag PC who continued it with a brilliant cross but with no Kerala striker to receive it and was cleared by Maharashtra defenders. Maharashtra maintained the possession of the ball in their own half and won a free kick in the thirty seventh minute. Their short passes were being intercepted with Kerala making a move through a forward ball that was headed back to the keeper.
Jithin MS scored for the kerala side doubling their lead in the fortieth minute .Four minutes of regulation time added was added before half time giving the western side a chance to open their account Maharashtra player Mrunal Tandem kissed the ground owing to an injury and lured medical attention. Kerala defended their woodwork well and sent long balls down the right flank without much success. Maharashtra was trying to make a patient build up and was attacking persistently but the Kerala side were able to make clearances .It was a captivating first half football from the Kerala side as Maharashtra were looking hungry to open their goal account in the second half.
In the second half Kerala was attacking from right to left while Maharashtra attacked from left to right. The western side’s rash tackle by no. 8 midfielder Kiran Pandhare on Jithin Gopalan earned him a yellow card .An attack by Kerala in the fifty eight minute and Rahul KP waited and beat the keeper for Kerala’s third goal in the fifty eight minute .Kerala continued with their progressive runs with yet trying to increase their mark.
In the sixty eighth minute a serious tackle on keralite Afdal VK by no.26 Pramod Pandey gave them a free kick but was stopped by the western defenders who stood their ground the series of ambush by the southern side.
The play was stalled as there was a dog in the field in the seventy second minute.
Kerala were constantly on the attack moving from left to right and it seemed that team Maharashtra were been pinned into their own half as midfielder Jithin MS seemed to be all over the Maharashtra defenders. The Kerala coach seemed to be having a few words with the 4th official as there was a heated argument on.
Maharashtra had to defend voraciously because of Kerala’s rampant attacks as Jithin MS looked unstoppable. Maharashtra made a rare attack in the eighty fourth minute as they moved from right to left of the field . Maharashtra tried to salvage some pride in the dying minutes of the game. Maharashtra made a substitution in the eighty eight minute as they brought in No.15 Asifullah Khan in place of No.28 midfielder Siddhart Colaco. Kerala also made a substitution with No.16 Muhammad Parakottil brought in as three minutes of added time was awarded.
Rahul KP contracted in the an injury in the first minute if extra time and was taken off the field. beat Maharashtra to qualify for the semis after a total of 14 goals in 3 matches.

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