Santosh Trophy 2018: West Bengal, Kerala ease into semis from Group A

Kolkata, March 25: Defending champions Bengal defeated Chandigarh by a solitary goal, while Kerala blanked Maharashtra 3-0 to storm into the semifinals from Group A in the Senior National Football Championship for the 72nd Santosh Trophy here on Sunday (March 25).

Kerala struck through Rahul Raj (23rd minute), Jithin MS (39th) and Rahul KP (58th) at the Howrah Stadium for their third win in a row and book a semifinal berth with nine points.

Bengal also secured three successive wins after their triumph at Mohun Bagan ground to complete the line-up from group A as they will face Kerala on March 27 to determine the group toppers.

Bengal's repeated raids finally bore fruit in the 18th minute when Bidyasagar Singh's shot from a long range deflected off Chandigarh captain Rahul and floated into the net at the Mohun Bagan ground.

Full Time: West Bengal 1 - 0 Chandigarh#SantoshTrophy#BENvCHD pic.twitter.com/ZF1hW7j038

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 25, 2018

Playing after a gap of four days, Bengal were without their captain Jiten Murmu who was down with a stomach bug. In his absence, Tirthankar Sarkar led the side as Chandigarh proved no match to the record 32-times champions.

Bengal suffered a setback in the 36th minute when defender Monotosh Chakladar had to leave the field with a head injury.

Chandigarh custodian Salman Lateef almost gifted Bengal their second goal when he accidentally threw the ball into Rajon Barman's feet but the striker hesitated in front of the goal and the ball was finally cleared as the hosts squandered many chances.

Full Time: Kerala 3 - 0 Maharashtra#SantoshTrophy#KERvMAH pic.twitter.com/UGbs190GYn

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 25, 2018

In the other game, the first half saw Kerala completely dominate proceedings with a number of attacks in the opening quarter. But strikers Afdal VK, Anurag PC and Jithin Gopalan were all denied by Maharashtra keeper Aditya Mishra.

Having missed a host of chances, Kerala finally broke the deadlock in the 24th minute after their skipper Rahul Raj converted from the spot. The penalty was awarded to Kerala after Maharashtra defender Pramod Pandey brough down Afdal VK inside the box as the striker had clear look in front of the goal.

Kerala further increased their pressure and attacked the Maharashtra goal ferociously, going close on a few occasions. It yielded another goal in the 39th minute when Jithin MS got on the scoresheet. Anurag, on the left, found Rahul KP on the right with a long ball, who found Jithin clear inside the box. He curled in a perfect ball to give Kerala a two goal cushion going into the breather.

At the start of the second half, Kerala coach Satheevan Balan brought winger Sreraag Gopal to replace defender Justin George. The move paid off as he created Kerala's third goal in the 58th minute. Sreraag dispossessed an opponent before sending Rahul KP through who managed to hold off a couple of challenges before netting from close.

Match results:

Kerala 3(Rahul V Raj 23, Jithin MS 39, Rahul KP 58) bt Maharashtra 0

Bengal 1 (Bidyasagar Singh 18) bt Chandigarh 0

(Additional inputs from an AIFF media press release)