Kolkata, March 27: Kerala rode on K P Rahul's late strike to edge defending champions Bengal 1-0 and enter the semifinals as group A toppers in the National Football Championship for the 72nd Santosh Trophy here on Tuesday (March 27). Both the teams missed a flurry of opportunities and the winning goal came only in the 90th minute when Rahul received a cross from Jithin MS from the right flank before pushing the ball into the net.
Kerala finished with four wins from as many matches to top the group with 12 points, while Bengal finish second with nine points from four matches.
Full Time: West Bengal 0-1 Kerala#SantoshTrophy#BENvKER pic.twitter.com/Iy2wi4kOUD
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 27, 2018
Bengal will face the Group B toppers while Kerala will take on the runner-up in the two semifinals on March 30.
Both teams made four changes each in their starting XI to give rest to their key players ahead of the last-four round.
Full Time: Manipur 2-7 Maharashtra#SantoshTrophy#MANvMAH pic.twitter.com/TKqWfpO40O
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 27, 2018
In the Kerala starting XI, Jestin George, JIthin Gopalan, Jiyad Hassan, Midhun V made way for Hajmal S, Sreerag G, Shamnas BL and Vibin Thomas.
Bengal dominated proceedings initially and enjoyed better ball possession. They got the first major chance to break the deadlock in the 6th minute when attacking midfielder Sandip Bhattacharjee attempted a volley inside the box but the ball went just above the crossbar.
Kerala won a free-kick just outside Bengal's penalty box in the 13th minute after Jithin MS was brought down. It was their first major chance to score but Lijo S' shot sailed above the crossbar.\
The home side squandered the easiest chance of the first half in the 33rd minute when Sujay Dutta failed to tap the ball in from a handshaking distance. Sandip initiated the move with a through ball for Bidyasagar Singh on the right side of the box. The winger squared the ball for Dutta but he failed to push the ball into the back of the net.
At the stroke of half time, Bengal missed yet another chance. Rajon Barman received a pass from Sandip and forwarded a through ball inside the box eyeing Sourav Dasgupta's run but Kerala custodian Hajmal S came out of his line in time and collected the ball.
In the 56th minute, the visitors got an opportunity to score the opening goal. Prolific goalscorer Jithin MS received but failed to convert from a one on one position as Ranajit Majumder came out of his line and saved the ball.
Kerala got yet another chance to score in the 69th minute when Afdal failed to trap Jithin's cross from the right. The striker was inside the six yards' box but failed to control the ball with his chest as Bengal defenders cleared it.
Bengal's top scorer Bidysagar Singh came very close to score a goal in the 81st minute when he entered the opponent's box with a solo run dribbling past three defenders. He attempted to square the ball from a narrow-angle but not a single Bengal player was present in front of the goal to tap the ball into the back of the net.
Maharashtra thrash Manipur
In an inconsequential match at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium, Maharashtra hammered Manipur 7-2 after trailing 1-2 at halftime.
Manipur drew first blood by Chanso Horam in the 17th minute before Maharashtra restored partity through Sahil Bhokare (28th).
The Northeastern outfit once again scored through Naorem Dhananjay Singh's spot kick in the 40th minute to lead 2-1 at the break.
After the changeover, Maharashtra opened the flood gates riding on a hat-trick by Ranjeet Singh (59th, 78th and 90+1st minutes).
Nikhil Prabhu (76th), Kiran Pandhare (87th) and Mohammad Rahman Ansari (90+3rd) completed the rout for Maharashtra.
(With additional inputs from AIFF Media)