Santosh Trophy Final 2017 Full-time: Goa 0-1 West Bengal (ET)

                                                       

                                                        Goa 0-1 West Bengal

 

Goa paid for not making the most of their chances in the first half. In the second session opportunities were at a premium. When we looked all set for spot-kicks up stepped Manvir with a well taken goal in the final minute of extra-time. It wasn't the best game you'll ever see, but we hope we made it worth your while this Sunday evening. Congraturatulations to our champions West Bengal for a 32nd Santosh Trophy crown. But, for now, from me Mrunal Nakashe and all the team at Khel Now its goodnight.

120+4' There goes the whistle at the end of the second half of ET and we have our winners. West Bengal.

120+2' Ronald's shot straight at Bruno.

120+1' Substitution Bengal Murmu off Chakladar on.

120' GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL West Bengal. Its taken the best part of two hours but what a goal. Akhtar with a lovely ball clipped in finds Manvir who smashes it in. Scenes of joy for the men from Kolkata.

118' Substitution Goa Melroy the substitute goalkeeper has come on but he's replaced an outfiekd player. Interesting stuff.

115' Ronald gets into the box and squares it to Basanta but some last-ditch defending sees Goa clear.

113' Substition Bengal Debashish off Murmu on.

112' Ball clipped into the box by Goa and cleared.

109' Both teams already look like they have settled for penalties.

106' We are on in the second half of ET.

105+1' In to a minute of added time in the first half of ET and there goes the whistle for a breather.

104' Both teams looks out on their feet and are giving the ball away in the final third.

101' Past the 100 minute mark and still no prospect of a goal to be honest.

99' Goa have settled down a bit after those early Bengal attacks.

97' This one looks like one of those that has penalties written on it.

95' Liston with an attack for Goa and Roy is furious with his back four but still no goal.

92' Another Bengal attack and Goa are lucky as Ronald's header comes back off the crossbar.

91' We are underway in the first half of ET. Earky Bengal and Bruno's collection.

Goa started the second half as they did the first but chances have been at a premium and Brian's free-kick is the closest we have come to a goal.

90+3' There goes the whistle for full-time and with nothing to seperate the two teams we go into 30 minutes of extra-time.

90+2' Chance for Goa but Roy with a great save with his feet.

90+1' Stll no closer to a goal.

90' We're expecting three minutes of added time.

88' Manvir with a shot from outside the box  blazes over.

85' Anothe Goa attack with a long ball but Lakra steps across for an important block.

83' Sibstition Bengal Vishal off Debashish on. Akhtar gets the ball on the edge of the box, cuts in and looks to curl one into the top corner. Btruno tips it over for a corner and nothing comes off it.

81' Looks like Vishal has gone down with some cramps for Bengal and his game is done.

79' Colaco fouled on the right edge of the box and Goa have a free-kick in a good position. George takes and overhits it straight out of play. Woeful.

76' We are getting to that time now where one goal could well be enough.

72' Bengal free-clipped in and cleared. Goa counter but the offside flag goes up.

70' Substitution Goa Colaco off George on.

68' The game is meandering a bit right now can't see either team scoring as it stands.

65' Akeraj is through on goal but Roy comes out quickly to collect.

63' Substition for Goa. Aaron off Akeraj on.

61' Past the hour mark. Ball clipped in to the box. Roy comes to catch and draws a foul from the attacker.

58' Brian takes the free-kick and it goes just over. That had Roy scrambling in goal.

56' A coming together between Colaco and Rana. The Bengal captain gets a yellow.

54' Both teams trying their best but the quality ha been lacking.

52' Goa with a throw in to the box but Bengal get it clear.

49' Goa corner cleared as we look for that goal.

46' Back on in the second half.

It has been an eventful half in phases. Goa came out firing but after they failed to make the most of their chances Bengal came into the game. The atmosphere is great but the pitch is not. This one is fascinatingly poised.

45+2' Bengal with a shot of their own that Bruno has to tip over for a corner which is than cleared. There goes the whistle for HT.

45+1' Liston with a shot from the edge of the box that blazes over the bar.

45' Bengal will be happy togo in at 0-0 and they're just winding the clock down.

43' Mallicks fouls Brian on the left. Free-kick clipped in and cleared.

 40' Bengal work the ball into the box but Bruno comes off his line and collects.

37' Play is back underway and Goa are back to full strength.

35' Aaron and Peter are down for Goa and are getting treated. Aaron has caught a nasty one on the knee.

34' The pace of this game has slowed down a bit. There have benm attacks from both teams but the finishing has been poor.

30' On the half hour mark than and two successive Bengal corners cleared.

27' Goa corner is cleared and we still await our first goal of the evening.

25' Basanta puts the ball in the back of the net but the offside flag has gone up and he gets a yellow for not playing to the whistle.

22' Bengal with a rare attempt on goal but its comfortable for Bruno.

20' Goa once again come forward but Lakra and Mallick with some last-ditch defending to clear forr a corner. Nothing comes off it.

18' Melvin's goal-kick goes straight to a red shirt but Goa clear the danger. That could have been a howler for the Goans.

16' Another Goa attack but Aaron loses the ball as tries to dribble into the box.

13' Another ball played into the box. Aaron chests it down and trurns but his shot is too weak to beat the Bengal keeper from point blank range.

10' Bengal corner taken short and played into the box but cleared.

9' Goa have started much the better in the early going.

7' A long ball releases Aaron but as he goes in on goal a defender comes in with a timely challe nge and concedes a corner. Nothing comes from it.

3' A corner for Bengal is hooked back in and causes some panic in the Goa back four but i cleared away.

1' We have kickoff in the Final and Goa produce an attack straight from the start but the Bengal keeper collects well.

6:00pm The teams are out at its buzzing here at the GMC. Kickoff is next.

5:55pm West Bengal beat Mizoram on penalties while Goa overcame Kerala to book their place in the Final.

5:50pm West bengal are the only team in the tournament yet to concede a goal in open play.

5:45pm Both these teams hail from Group A and played out a 0-0 draw in the group stages. So, they're quite familiar with each other.

Bengal XI: Roy (GK), Lakra, Faiaz, Pradhan, Mallick, Gharami, Santu, Manvir, Akhtar, Ronald, Moirangthe.

Substitutes: Hazra, Dasgupta, Pradshan, Murmu, Chakladar, Prohlad, Mukherjee, Majumder (GK), Das (GK).

5:40pm Goa XI: Melvin, Peter, Liston, Aaren, Assumption, Nicolau, Cajetan, Leander, Brian, Glan, Bruno (GK).

Substitutes: Melroy (GK), George, Leny, Marcus, Akeraj, Latesh, Francis, Jessel, Agnelo (GK).

5:30pm Hello and welcome to the Live match commentary of the Santosh Trophy Final between Goa and West Bengal. This is your host Mrunal Nakashe joining in from Goa. 

Before the game begins, let us take you through a preview of the game. 

Goa will be looking to clinch their 6th title and make their home crowd happy when they face their arch-rivals West Bengal in the 71st Santosh Trophy Finals at GMC Stadium Bambolim on Sunday.

Bengal has reached finals by beating Mizoram in the tie-breaker. The Eastern state is flying high with an unbeaten run in the Championship,  being the only team in the championship with all clean sheets. Meanwhile, the hosts have defeated powerhouse Kerala 2-1in the hard-fought semi-finals. Goa are also unbeaten in the league, but they have struggled to get into the finals.

Team News

Goan coach Mateus Costa has full strength squad at his disposal and most likely to add recovered-from-injury Lenny Pereira and Francis Fernandes in the squad against the 31-time champions. He might also think to give the first start to U-21 striker Akeraj Martins.

While Bengal coach Mridul Banerjee will have also have all players at his disposal and he is also most likely to go with the similar starting XI which displayed a brilliant performance to beat spirited Mizoram in the semifinals.  

Head-to-Head

Bengal has a better track record over the Goans. Both the sides have met six times in the finals and the East Indian state has come out champions five times, while Goa emerged Champions in the 2008 edition with a 4-2 tie-breaker win over Bengal.

Man to Watch

Liston Colaco- Goa:  The forward has proved his calibre scoring a brace in the last match against Kerala.  The 18-year-old is brilliant with the ball at his feet, while he is also known for surprising the opponents with powerful long rangers. With his calibre to easily dribble past defenders, the striker will be the man to stop for Bengal.

 

Manvir Singh– Bengal: The centre-forward is in the excellent form helping his side with assists in almost every Bengal’s goal. The Minerva Academy product has already shown his class with brilliant performances in the every game. The tall frontman is superb in the air too and if Bengal are looking to add one more championship to their basket, the striker will have to play a key role in the front-line along with Shaikhom Singh and Moirangthem Singh.     

Probable Line-ups

Goa: (4-4-1-1) Bruno (GK), Carvalho, Soares, Nicolau, Lenny, Cajetan, Lenny, Akeraj, Liston, Francis, Leander.

West Bengal: (4-4-2) Roy (GK), Lakra, Murmu, Faiaz, Mallick, Gharmi, Santu, Manvir, Akhtar, Shaikhom, Moirangthem.

Broadcast

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The match will be telecast live on DD Sports from 6.00 PM.