West Bengal blow away Manipur in Santosh Trophy semifinal

West Bengal will battle hosts Kerala in the final of the 75th Santosh Trophy national football championship after the 32-time winners dispatched Manipur 3-0 in the second semifinal at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri on Friday with goals from Sujit Singh (2), Fardin Ali Molla (7) and Dilip Oran (74).
Bengal have booked their 46th final which will be a repeat of the 2017-18 edition when Kerala defeated Bengal on their home perch in Kolkata.Bengal will have the perfect opportunity to take revenge for their defeat in the group stage against Kerala when they face their arch-rivals on Monday.
Bengal could not have had a better start to their last-four clash as their young midfielder Sujit pulled them ahead with barely two minutes on the clock. Manipur custodian Angomjambam Meitei was deceived by the bounce as Sujit’s shot from outside the box wriggled through the goalkeeper’s grasp.
There was barely time for the celebrations to settle when Ranjan Bhattacherjee’s men doubled their lead. This time it was another young attacker in Fardin who bulged the net. The 20-year-old, who has been on the rolls of ATK Mohun Bagan, planted his strike from the edge of the box past Meitei taking his goal tally to five in the final round.
The game remained evenly poised for the remainder of the half with Bengal having Priyant Kumar Singh to thank for preserving their two-goal lead heading into the interval. The Bengal custodian pulled off a double save in the 32nd minute -- first to deny Naoroibam Romen Singh’s header and then Sudhir Laitonjam’s close-range attempt before defender Jay Baz cleared the lines.
The second half witnessed more chances for Manipur to find a way back. In the 57th minute, Priyant denied Laishram Chingkheinganba’s long-range attempt before Sudhir failed to hit the target from six yards out the very next minute. Somishon Shirak found himself inside the box with just the goalkeeper to beat but fluffed his shot in the 66th minute.
But it was Bengal who put the result beyond doubt as Dilip scored his team’s third with a tinge of fortune. In the 74th minute, Oram’s miscued cross from the left wing looped over Manipur keeper Meitei and ended up in the back of the goal as Bengal’s hunt for a 33rd Santosh Trophy is now a win away.