Hyderabad, Dec 30 Kerala outclassed Manipur 5-1 to advance to the final of the Santosh Trophy for the 16th time on Sunday, at the Gachibowli Stadium.
A late Muhammad Roshal PP hat trick put the gloss on a brilliant team performance from Kerala who will now take on old rivals West Bengal for the trophy. He was rightly handed over the Player of the Match award.
In the day’s first semi-final, West Bengal defeated holders Services 4-2 to move into the final for the 47th time.
In a high-octane first half, it was Kerala that struck first, their brilliant midfield play paying out the dividends in the 22nd minute of the game. After some passing that shifted the play constantly, and dragged Manipur's midfield out of shape, Muhammed Riyas played a through ball into the gap towards Muhammed Ajsal. The forward let the ball go through, having anticipated his supporting forward Naseeb Rahman making a run up front.
Rahman picked up the ball 25 yards from goal, entered the box, rounded the goalkeeper and finished with aplomb to give Kerala a deserved lead.
Manipur had faced a deficit earlier in the tournament and were no strangers to comebacks. And so it proved. In the 30th minute, from a long throw-in, Nijo Gilbert handled the ball in the box to give Manipur a lifeline back in the game. Shunjantan Ragui made no mistake from the resulting penalty, slamming it into the roof of the net.
The game's topsy turvy momentum continued in the end stages of the half. S Hajmal's spill in the danger zone from a wayward Manipur shot resulted in a frenzy hastily cleared away. And in first half injury time came the piece de resistance, a breakaway Kerala move giving them the lead once again.
Played through on the left wing, Riyas drifted in towards the byline before cutting a perfect low cross to the centre of the goal. An onrushing Ajsal displayed calm and brilliant technique to finish the move with a backheel flick. Kerala went into the break in the lead.
Manipur pressed harder in the second half in search of the equaliser, as Kerala dropped deeper. A moment of magic in the 73rd minute though completely killed the game. The newly introduced substitute, Muhammed Roshal stole the ball from Manipur forty yards from goal, ran towards the centre and let fly from outside the box. The ball slotted perfectly into the bottom corner. Kerala were two goals to the good, and Manipur looking at the abyss of a semi-final defeat.
The third goal killed Manipur off completely and their defence capitulated completely at the end. Roshal added two more goals right at the end, one from the penalty spot in injury time to complete a brilliant victory. Kerala, however, suffered a setback when defender Manoj M received the marching orders for his second yellow card offence.
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