Xtra Time Web Desk : Kerala on Wednesday won the Santosh Trophy for the 7th time in their history as Bino George’s men defeated West Bengal 5-4 on penalties (1-1 AET) in the final, after initially faltering behind at extra time.
The southern side were favourites from the start against the heavyweights West Bengal this time as they did defeat the same opponents once in the group stages before by a 2-0 margin and were on a roll in terms of scoring goals.
But the final was a different ball game altogether as both the teams played some attacking football throughout the match in front of a packed up stadium in Kerala. Chances came begging for both the sides during the regulation time, but neither could convert them into goals.
West Bengal keeper Priyant Singh was in good touch too as he made some critical saves in the regulation time to keep Kerala out of the goal and keep the scoreline as 0-0 at the end of regulation time.
The match then further went to extra time, which started perfectly for Ranjan Bhattacharjee’s team as they took the lead through Dilip Oraon header at the 97th minute of the match before being equalisd by the opponent’s Bibin Ajayan at the 116 minute mark.
The match then further went to penalties, which ultimately went in favour of Bino George’s team as they won the Santosh Trophy by beating West Bengal 5-4 on penalties (1-1 AET).