Santosh Trophy: Goalkeeper Shankar Roy’s outstanding effort helps Bengal to reach the final

Shankar Roy
Goalkeeper Shankar Roy’s outstanding effort helps Bengal to reach the final | Image: XtraTime

Internet Desk: Superhuman effort from West Bengal goalkeeper Shankar Roy helps West Bengal to reach the final of 71st Santosh Trophy after they prevailed 6-5 over Mizoram in tie-breaker on Thursday.

After both the teams failed to break the deadlock in regulation and extra time, the match went into penalty shootout, which ended with the semifinalists locked at 4-4.

Bengal emerged victorious and made the final for the 44th time after Basant Singh found the net and Lalbiakhlua’s shot was saved by Sankar Roy.

In the penalty shootout Lalrammawia Rammawia, substitute Ramfangzauva, Lalrammuanpuia, and Lalalrinchhana Rcha were on target for Mizoram, while Fialmuanawma Muanawma’s shot was saved by the rival keeper.

Santu Singh, Manvir Singh, Samad Ali Mallick and Mumtaz Akhtar found the net for the winners. Substitute Monotosh Chakladar’s shot hit the right post.

The hero of the semi final for West Bengal, Shankar Roy spoke to www.xtratime.in after the game and said, “We all were determined to do something special. The intention is to win the title at any cost as we couldn’t win the trophy in the last few years.” He added, “My idol has been Subrata Paul. During the tie-break I was recapitulating the memories of Subrata’s performance in the Nehru Cup and that played the role of motivation for me during the tie-breaker today.”

The man who led West Bengal towards the title six years back, Shabbir Ali, was in all praise for Shankar and coach Mridul Banerjee. Shabbir said, “I was always optimistic about the Bengal team. All teams have their ups and downs. The way Mridul’s team have been playing in this competition, they should win the final as well.” He added, “It’s the job of a goalkeeper to save goals. But the nerve he showed in saving those penalties, speaks volume about the psychological state of the team.”

Coach Mridul Banerjee too seemed very happy with the performance of his team. He said, “I didn’t speak particularly with the goalkeeper. As a coach all the players are equal for me. But when I saw my team couldn’t score in the 120 minutes they played, I started to feel the pressure. My boys have proven their characters even after 120 minutes.” The honourable Secretary of the Govt. of West Bengal Mr Aroop Biswas and the IFA Secretary congratulated the Bengal team immediately after the game.

Bengal have won the tournament 31 times and will meet the winners of the second semi-final between host Goa and Kerala.