Form, pedigree give Bengal edge over Punjab in Grand Finale

Gurgaon, Oct 24 (UNI) Having beaten the same opponents earlier in the tournament, West Bengal start with the psychological advantage against Punjab in the final of the 61st Santosh Trophy here tomorrow.

In the battle of old guards, both the sides will seek to end their long title droughts with Bengal having not won the prestigious inter-state tournament since 1999 in Chennai when a Baichung Bhutia-inspired side drubbed Goa 5-0 in the final while Punjab's wait has been even longer, having won last in the 1987 in Quilon though they came very close to winning twice later -- the first in 1994 in Madras and the second in New Delhi in 2004, emerging as runners-up both times.

After stopping the rampaging and hot favourites Kerala via tie breaker in the semi-finals, Bengal must be smelling the Trophy which they had won 29 times earlier.

Coach Prasanta Banerjee had told UNI that he was determined to win the title which they had not won for some time due to stiff competition from other emerging powerhouses like Goa, Kerala and Manipur.

Even though he was given a second rung team in the preliminary rounds in Faridabad with big Kolkata clubs refusing to release their top players because of local league matches, he seemed to be satisfied after the addition of six players including seasoned Dipendu Biswas, current India players Syed Rahim Nabi, Habib-ur-Rehman and Sanjiv Maria, though unlucky to have lost current India goalkeeper Sandip Nandy due to an injury against Haryana in their first quarter-final match.

The two sides had not entertained the spectators much with their forwards miserly in finding the net and current form hardly separating the two. Punjab played the best match so far in their tournament opener stunning holders Goa 2-0.

Indian striker Manjit Singh, Parveen Kumar in the upfront and Jaswinder Singh in the midfield carried the day for the six-time champions. But, they hit a purple patch after that, playing out a dull and drab goalless draw with Haryana which also saw Manjit Singh injured and ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Without Manjit, Punjab upfront lacked the firepower and they were beaten by Bengal in another uninspiring match. They, however, picked up a bit in the semi-final, scoring a facile 2-1 win against last year's runners-up Maharashtra.

On the other hand, Bengal were unimpressive in their first quarter-final match against Haryana though they won it 1-0 through an outstanding goal by Dipendu Biswas early in the match. They were then brought down to earth losing 0-2 to Goa in the next match with coach Pasanta Banerjee attributing the loss to lack of coordination due to the absence of training before the tournament. But they staked claim as a serious title contender beating Punjab 1-0 in the last quarter-final match.

Bengal, however, have a huge advantage in defence with in-form India player Sanjiv Maria manning the citadel so well so far. Maria was mainly responsible for Bengal's win against Kerala who were heavily tipped to take home the Trophy. He was many a times the final frontier for Kerala attack spearheaded by N P Pradeep and Asif Saheer in that semi-final match.

So, if seasoned Dipendu Biswas fires in all cylinders and do more than the flashes of brilliance which he promised a few times against Kerala even though he was heavily marked and if Rahim Nabi finds his touch and midfield clicked, it could be the 29-times champions Bengal who are likely to lift the title and add to their enviable title roll in the national championship. But, for that they have to play their best game in the tournament and match their enormous pedigree.

But, it seems that the best match of the tournament had already been played earlier and it is unlikely that there will the same enthusiasm and anticipation among the spectators that were witnessed during the Bengal-Kerala semi-final match which saw the only time in the month-long competition to have full-to-the-brim attendance at the one-stand Chowdhury Devi Lal Stadium here.

Punjab are no doubt like Germany in the world stage. They run hard, give little to opponents, using advantage of better physique and height and fight till the end. Coach Jagir Singh had said Punjab will never give up easily to the opponents who, he said, have to earn every ball if they want to beat his side.

Having said that if Bengal play the best match of the tournament, this year's Santosh Trophy seems to be heading towards the cradle of Indian football.

The match kicks off at 1700 hrs tomorrow.

UNI