Bengal, Punjab to play in the final of Santosh Trophy

Gurgaon, Oct 22 (UNI) West Bengal fought off repeated Kerala onslaughts to beat them 4-2 via tie-breaker and set up the title clash against Punjab in the 61st Santosh Trophy football tournament here today.

Dipendu Biswas, Sanjiv Maria, Suman Dutta and Shyam Mondal scored for Bengal while Lenal Thomas and N P Pradeep found the target in the penalty shootout after both the sides were locked in a goalless draw after regulation and extra times in a thrilling semi-final match.

R Rajesh and Jaseer Karnath were the Kerala players who failed to score in the tie-breaker.

Earlier, in another semi-final, a depleted Punjab came from behind to score a well-deserved 2-1 victory over last year's runners-up Maharashtra.

Billed as the clash between experience and youth, the much-anticipated Bengal-Kerala match lived up to the expectations producing a fast paced and attacking football with Kerala doing most of the attack and Bengal defending in their half.

But, goals eluded both the sides in the regulation time and the extra time to the disappointment of the enthusiatic supporters who enjoyed every bit of the match at the full-to-the-brim one-stand Choudhury Devi Lal Stadium.

Kerala dominated throughout the match but was unlucky not to have scored in the regulation time as well as the extra time.

They did not allow Bengal to settle down and made umpteen number of forays in the rival defence. But, Bengal survived, making last minute clearances and tackles to see the ball out of harm's way or the ever reliable Sajib Maria being the final frontier for Kerala to get past many a times.

Early in the extra time, N P Pradeep got the golden opportunity to score for his team but his first shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and the second attempt from the rebound hit the crosspiece.

For Kerala, Asif Saheer, N P Pradeep and Mohammad Hakeem combined well to creat havoc in Bengal defence. The dimunitive Asif was the pick of Kerala players with his dribbling skills, speed and accurate passes and made live difficult for Bengal defence.

In the Punjab-Maharashtra match, striker Abhishek Yadav put Maharashtra ahead in the 43rd minute against the run of play but Punjab restored parity in the 60th minute through Baldeep Singh and Parveen Kumar then rounded off the tally in the 67th minute.

Though trailing 0-1 at the half time, Punjab, who were without India striker Manjit Singh and Hardeep Singh Saini due to injuries, dominated the proceedings throughout the match. But, a defensive error allowed Yadav to put his side ahead.

Collecting a Kasif Jamal pass from the centre, Paresh Shivalkar sneaked into the Punjab box and essayed a low cross for an unmarked Yadav who had all the time in the world to simply slam the ball into the net with goalkeeper Kamleshwar Singh having very little time to react. Before that, Yadav was closely marked by Narinder Singh for most part of the first half but the India defender was nowhere near Yadav at that time.

Earlier, in the 40th minute, Punjab threatened to take the lead but Jaspal Singh's powerful right-footer from top of the box, after the ball had deflected from a defender following a corner from the left, was brilliantly saved by India reserve goalkeeper Subhashis Roy Chowdhury diving to his left.

After the breather, Maharashtra could not capitalise on the one-goal advantage and it was Punjab who created most of the scoring opportunities. Maharashtra defence lacked understanding and throughout the match it looked porous with several mispasses among the defenders and Punjab seized the oppourtunity to come back into the match.

Punjab restored parity from one such defensive blunder in the 60th minute. A goal-mouth melee from a throw-in saw Parveen Kumar taking possession of the ball and after gaining controlled of the ball in a tussle, he sent it to an unmarked Baldeep Singh who slammed it home with the goalkeeper remaining a mute spectator.

Maharashtra's last chance to equalise came in the 84th minute, but Abhishek Yadav headed over the bar from a close range, connecting a Steven Dias cross from the right.

Seven minutes later (67th), Parveen Kumar scored firing home after collecting a beautiful Sukhjinder Singh through pass from near the centre line.

Punjab coach Jagir Singh later told UNI that the team played as a well-oiled unit and credited the win to a team effort.

''After our last match against Bengal where our forwards failed, they played a good game today. Our defenders also played well and we deserved to win. Punjab is known for their fighting spirit and we will not lower our guard in the final also,'' he said.

Punjab, however, would miss Manjit in the final too even though Saini is confirmed to be fit before the game, the coach added.

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