Kerala beat Bengal to win 7th Santosh Trophy title

Kerala clinched the title with a 5-4 penalty shootout win

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R Kerala clinched their seventh Santosh Trophy title after beating West Bengal on penalty shootout in a thrilling final at Manjeri Payyanad stadium in Malappuram on Monday.

Earlier, after 90 minutes of goaless action the match headed into the extra time. Dilip Orawn put Bengal in front in the 97th minute with a sublime header but Bibin Ajayn scored the equaliser in the 117th minute to bring the hosts back in the match.

The match headed to shootouts where Kerala sealed the game scoring 5-4.

Bengal played their 46th final overall and they entered this contest as favourites owing to their outstanding record in the tournament since its start in 1941.

Kerala had defeated West Bengal in the first round and won three other games while it played out a 2-2 draw with Meghalaya. The team thrashed Karnataka 7-3 in the semifinal to secure a spot in the title clash.