Kochi: A bunch of unheralded youngsters, marshalled by a headstrong Satheevan Balan as the head coach, gifted Kerala such priceless emotions in football on Easter Sunday that no super-prized leagues have managed to offer in recent times. The moment of magic was when Seesan S. fired home from the penalty spot to give Kerala a thumping 4-2 shootout win over Bengal, after a tumultuous extra-time endeavour had ended 2-2, clinching the Santosh Trophy title after a 14-year wait. The Santosh Trophy, forlorn and forgotten lately, was back in relevance at the historic Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and along it arrived the spark that could awaken Kerala football, a domestic force that had slipped off the mainstream, surviving merely on nostalgia.
Kerala had won the prestigious annual football event five times before; 1973-74, 1991-92, 1992-93, 2000-01 and 2004-05. But the latest triumph, made possible by the youngest ever Kerala squad, with an average age of just 22, has to be up there among the best. Such was the drama that unfolded as the hosts equalised twice, the second time in the darkest depths of extra time, when a brilliant Tirthankar Sarkar stepped up and curled in a Messi-eque low free-kick to force penalties. The script had been altered as six minutes after Bengal’s substitute Rajon Barman saw red, in the 117th minute for a reckless lunge on goalkeeper Midhun, Vibin Thomas had soared over his markers to head in a potential winner.
Jiten Murmu’s 68th minute strike cancelling out Jithin M.S.’s 19th minute solo had seemed like a distant memory by then. Midhun V., who was partly guilty of letting in Sarkar’s late equaliser, was the hero in the shootout, denying Ankit Mukherjee and Nabi Hussain Khan in successive attempts while captain Rahul V. Raj and Jithin Gopalan converted theirs to put Kerala 2-0 ahead. Sarkar and Sanchayan Samadder scored for Bengal, but Jestin George and Seesan sealed the deal.
