Santosh Trophy Final: Hansda stuns Kerala with late winner, Bengal clinch 33rd title
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Robi Hansda stunned Kerala with a late winner (1-0) to deliver the Santosh Trophy to Bengal at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The winner, scored in the second minute of six-minute added time at the end of 90, left Kerala lifeless. They were prepared to play the extra-time when Hansda produced a goal from a slim chance thanks to his killer instinct. Hansda, who was the leading goalscorer in the Santosh Trophy this season with 11 goals until the semifinals, pounced on a failed clearance to poke home, past goalkeeper Hajmal.
There was some drama after the Bengal goal as Kerala got an indirect freekick inside the box, but captain Sanju G missed the target. Biby Thomas's Kerala had hoped to end a three-year trophy drought, but it was Bengal that ended up winning their 33rd title.
Kerala were the lively of the two sides for the majority of the match, but Sanjoy Sen's Bengal continuously posed a threat on the break and from set pieces. Kerala's best chances were mostly limited to the first half and early in the second period.
It was Muhammad Ajsal, who was Kerala's most potent weapon, while Bengal managed to keep the other two attackers, Naseeb Rahman and Nijo Gilbert, silent. Nijo, however, managed to find decent crosses, and he found Ajsal with a brilliant effort inside the first 10 minutes, only for the striker to head over. Ajsal and Hansda unleashed shots from outside the box in the first 25 minutes but could not trouble the respective goalkeepers, Sourav Samanta and Hajmal S.
In the 55th minute, Kerala again produced a chance out of nothing, but Samanta was alert to the danger. Ajsal got a touch to turn a Nijo cross goalward, but the Bengal goalkeeper was well-positioned to stop it.
In the 58th minute, Bengal had a great opportunity to trouble Hajmal in the Kerala goal when they earned a free kick a few yards outside the box, but they wasted it.
Bengal made the first substitution of the evening in the 75th minute with the introduction of striker Israful Dewan for Abusufian S K. Muhammed Roshal, Kerala's hat-trick hero from the semifinal, entered the action, replacing Nijo Gilbert in the 78th minute.
Shortly after 80 minutes, Bengal nearly stunned Kerala when a deflection almost led to an own goal. A minute later, Kerala playmaker Christy Davis was at the right place to clear a goalbound effort. Bengal had come alive in the dying moments, and they were rewarded for their perseverance in added time.