Kerala beat Bengal in penalty shootout to lift Santosh Trophy

Kerala and West Bengal who are battling in a Santosh Trophy final, it seems inevitable the game has to be decided in a penalty shootout. Like in all three finals where the two traditional arch-rivals faced each other on previous occasions, the title decider of the 75th edition also was determined from 12 yards out at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri on Monday. Bengal midfielder Sajal Bag’s miss in the second round of spot kicks proved to be the difference between the two sides as it was hosts Kerala who repeated the 2017-18 success winning 5-4 on penalties after there was nothing to separate the two teams in 120 minutes of football. This is the seventh time that Kerala have lifted the Santosh Trophy title.

After a goalless 90 minutes where Bino George’s Kerala looked shaky and Bengal created the better of chances, Dilip Orawn headed home the opener from a Supriya Pandit cross in the sixth minute of extra time. Bengal were three minutes away from a record-extending 33rd national football championship title and it looked like all was lost for Kerala, but Mohammed Safnad sent the home crowd into a frenzy scoring the equaliser and forcing the penalty shootout.

Bengal coach Ranjan Bhattacharjee had on the eve of the final opined that the pressure will all be on the hosts to perform in front of their passionate supporters. And it indeed proved to be the case as an uncharacteristic Kerala looked shaky in the first half. Kerala markers failed to pick up Nabi Hussain Khan during a corner in the fifth minute, but the Bengal defender’s header missed the goal by inches. In the 23rd minute, Mahitosh Roy, again unmarked in the middle of the box, failed to make proper connection to a Dilip Orawn cross.

With Bengal on the ascendancy,