JOIN USOnly sport can silence 35,000 people at one go. On Sunday in the final of the 67th Santosh Trophy here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, when Services won the crown by beating hosts Kerala 4-3 on penalties after the two sides were locked goalless, such was the case.
Kerala right-back Surjith’s shot hit the horizontal and the Services players, who had defended their crown successfully, erupted in unbridled joy. For the visitors, Dhanji Singh, Sharwan Kumar, Dileep M and Kiran K Varghese scored while two shots were saved by Kerala custodian Jean Christian. For the hosts, Rino Anto, Abdul Basid and Sarath BT found the back of the net.
It was Services’ third triumph in Santosh Trophy and their striker Lalian Mawia was adjudged the Man of the Match.
It was always going to be a battle of who blinks first. And Kerala blinked, but not without a fight.
It was end to end stuff from kick off. Amidst deafening chants came Kerala’s first real chance in the 11th minute. Kannan – shrugging off his injury and playing in the final – latched on to a cross from the midfield inside the 18-yard box. But his strike brought out the best in goalkeeper Nano Singh of Services.
Usman then dribbled past defenders in the 15th minute but his shot lacked sting and went straight into the hands of the custodian.
The visitors had one golden opportunity to surge in front as early as in the 6th minute. But the hero of the second semifinal Lalian Mawia shot over from inside the box. Mawia had another chance to make amends in the 25th minute when he was set up on top of the box by Subrata Sarkar. But this time the goalkeeper blocked his effort.
Change of ends saw no change of fortunes. They played with same verve but a goal remained elusive.
If Kerala’s rearguard must be credited for their toughness, the defending champions’ custodian Nano proved to be agile under the bar. The midfield battle was intriguing too as both the finalists could successfully read each other’s moves.
The crowd was getting impatient as time wore on and so were Kerala. Sajith’s jinking run from the heart of the defence gave them hope but the centre back was intercepted on the edge of the box by his counterpart Sumesh P S.
In extra time, Kerala looked the more purposeful side. But in the end, they had only disappointment in store.