Hyderabad: A goal booted in from almost a kissing distance by Robi Hansda deep into the add-on time made all the difference as West Bengal players hugged and kissed the coveted Santosh Trophy they retained after seven years defeating Kerala 1-0 in the final at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Tuesday night.
This was West Bengal’s 33rd title in the National Football Championship, but the emotional fillip the victory generated was not to be missed.
Hansda, a prolific striker, who scored his 12th goal in the 78th edition of the tournament and brought a dramatic change in the final, went wild with joy after scoring the match-winner and took off his shirt to celebrate that immediately called for a yellow card.
But it didn’t stop Hansda from running away with two top individual awards of the tournament – the Tulsidas Balaram Player of the Match award and the Peter Thangaraj Player of the Tournament Award.
Given the way Hansda carried his team’s responsibilities on his shoulders right from Day one of the tournament, it was perhaps impossible to think of another contender for the awards.
As the match was slowly moving towards a contest to be decided in the extra-time or through the penalty shootout, Kerala defence found itself completely off-guard when striker Manotos Maji headed forward a ball in the box in the 90+4th minute after receiving a lob from the left.
Kerala defender Adil Amal was wrong footed when Hansda, who was camping himself well inside the area, a few yards away from the goalkeeper Hajmal S, put the ball in to trigger off massive celebration in the West Bengal bench.
Overall, it wasn’t a match to be remembered for long. Both teams were cautious in their approaches from the beginning and never could really test the rival custodians.
Bengal were heavily handicapped by the absence of their key striker Naro Hari Shrestha because of injury and it blunted their attacks to a great extent. They mainly had to depend on crosses from the wings that didn’t cut much ice in the Kerala defence.
Kerala, on the other hand, was cautious but time and again accelerated in counter attacks. But then, they took fancy shots at the rival goal, tried a few quick dribbles and even sent low crosses which didn’t carry the necessary stings.
West Bengal coach Sanjoy Sen said he felt honoured to take the trophy back to Kolkata after seven years.
“In Bengal, it is all about winning the Santosh Trophy. To finish runners-up would be considered a failure,” he said.
“So, I was aware of the pressure, but took up the challenge. We had a completely young team, but they performed in the most incredible way throughout the tournament. Kudos to my boys for doing such a great job,” Sen said.
Hansda, who emerged the top scorer with a dozen goals in his pocket, said he was happy to win the trophy for the state.
“That I could score the match-winner is a huge bonus for me. I dedicate this victory to my father,”
he added.
Award winners:
Winners – West Bengal (INR 5,00,000) Runners Up – Kerala (INR 3,00,000)
Peter Thangaraj Player of the Championship – Robi Hansda (West Bengal) (INR 1,00,000)
Tulsidas Balaram Player of the Final Match – Robi Hansda (West Bengal) (INR 1,00,000).
