The Hindu : Sport / Football : Bengal shows Punjab the door

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Bengal shows Punjab the door

CHENNAI: Holder Punjab bowed out the 63rd edition of the Santosh trophy championship after its 1-2 loss to Bengal in the final Group A league match on Saturday.

With two draws and a win Bengal collected five points to top the Group and joined Tamil Nadu into the semifinals.

As per the requirements, Bengal needed a win to qualify while Punjab could have gone through with a draw. A lot cohesive in its moves and playing with lot of punch and purpose, Bengal settled down well.

Punjab in its usual way relied on speed and variations in passes. The contest seemed on even keel when a sudden counter move saw Bengal go ahead through Snehasish, whose ball control was enough to unsettle goalkeeper Karanjit. Past the first session and early in the next came Punjab’s equaliser through Mahlima, who showed the cunning to steal into rival area and meet an aerial pass.

Goalkeeper Subashsis Choudhary had no chance. Quick substitutions reflected Bengal’s concern. Coach Raghu Nandy relied on his bench strength but as it happened it was his trump card Lalam Puia who got the winning goal, a culmination of an intriguing inter-play deep in Punjab territory.

The result: Bengal 2 (Snehasish Chakraborthy 33, Lalam Puia 84) bt Punjab 1 (P. Mahlima 55).

Sunday: Maharashtra vs. Goa (4 p.m.), Karnataka vs. Services (6.30 p.m.). — Special Correspondent

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