Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the Satosh Trophy final match between Kerala and Bengal being played at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.

This is Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this fantastic clash.

Tanmoy will be taking the next shot as Hajmal, Kerala’s replaced goalkeeper take position and he scores

Both score! Bablu Oran will take the third penalty for WB and he scores! Jijo comes on for Kerala and scores for Bino George’s side

West Bengal Misses! Sajal comes on next for Bengal and misses the penalty! He shoots the ball over the target as Priyant consoles him before taking positon for the next penalty and Bibin scores

Bengal starts the shootout with Dilip taking the first kick and he scores! Sanju steps up for Kerala and scores!

Penalty Shootout begins!

Full-Time

Kerala 1-1 West Bengal, as the match heads into a penalty shootout

123′ Chance! Another cross from Supriya Pandit, but the shot that meets it is not on target as the match looks to head into the penalty shootout

120+3′ Soyal and Supriya get into a duel and Bibin, the goalscorer tracks back to rescue Kerala again and Bengal continues to attack now

120+1′ Kerala gets the ball in the final half, but Bengal is living dangerously at the moment. Jay Baz comes to Bengal’s rescue and Kerala gets a corner kick

120′ A corner for Kerala is cleared by Bengal, but the match is far form over as a raucous audience roars and sings now. Their team is back level at the very end

116′ GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! Noufal crosses in form the left and Kerala heads the ball home to equalise

Kerala 1-1 West Bengal

114′ Save! Jijo Joseph gets a cross from Noufal and he shoots on the volley. Priyant, the wall for Bengal tonight is unmoved, unshaken as he makes another save

113′ Another cramp! Nabi Khan is replaced by Kablu Oran for West Bengal. Nabi has been pheomenal tonight

112′ Priyant rushes to deny any chance over a through ball for Kerala as he earns a goal kick for West Bengal and the head-coach Ranjan Bhattacharjee is delighted with his play. He has been absolutely brilliant tonight

111′ Soyal makes a run this time, but Bengal has all ten men at the back. It cannot afford any mistake now!

109′ Match resumes as Dilip Orawn goes down with an injury and the referee rules play on and eventualy stops play. Dilip looks to be in some serious pain as Bengal’s medical team rushes to him with a stretcher to carry him off the field

108′ Injury for Jesin as the Kerala player picks up a cramp after a free kick, which saw Bengal clear the ball away

107′ Shot! Tanmoy’s tries for a long-ranger, but no force in the shot whatsoever as Midhun gets the ball back into play

ET second half begins!

ET Half-Time

Kerala 0-1 West Bengal

105+1′ Red Card! Sujit, on the bench of Bengal is sent off for dissent, but he was already replaced during the match as the player walks off the dugout

105′ Throw-in for Kerala, but Jay Baz stays put along the left flank to deny any further development on attack

104′ Noufal carries the ball into the Bengal box, but Manotosh, the captain, is there to steal the ball back into Bengal’s control and clears the ball away

102′ Substitution for Kerala as well! In: MD. Safnad, Out: Shighil

101′ Yellow Card for the goalscorer as Ranjan Bhattacharya makes changes in the forward line.

In: Rabi Das, Out: Fardin Ali Molla

97′ GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Dilip Orawn makes a flying header and buries the ball into the net to put Bengal in front

Kerala 0-1 West Bengal

96′ Noufal gets the ball and tries to make a run into the Bengal box, but Shubhendu is there to clear the ball away

95′ Fardin chasing the ball as Kerala enjoys possession and Bengal loses discipline to gift a free kick for Kerala

94′ Free Kick taken quickly by Kerala as Soyal makes a run. Sanju gets the ball at the back, but his long ball ends play as the referee rules an off-side against Kerala

93′ Sanju gets the ball back from Midhun after a goal kick as Jijo Joseph gets the ball off a pass from the Bengal box. He shoots and again, this shot is off-target

91′ Kerala kicks off the first half as it begins an attack, but a foul on Supriya Pandit gives a free kick to Bengal

90+4′ Regulation Time over!

Kerala 0-0 West Bengal 

90+2′ WHAT A MISS! Noufal hares down the right flank abd crosses as Soyal tries to shoot, and a poor shot sees the ball fly miles over the target

90+1′ Save! Kerala attacks on the counter, with three Kerala players in the final third and Jijo shoots. Priyant makes another save!

90′ Manotosh passes the ball to Shubhendu as Kerala steals the ball in its penalty box. But that attack, as it has been for the most part tonight, ceases at the gloves of Priyant

89′ The play resumes as Tuhin gets the ball to Manotosh and Tuhin gets the ball back, carries it to the opposition half, but loses it along the touchline for a Kerala goal-kick

87′ Noufal carries the ball along the right flank and passes to Soyal, who manages to cross the ball, but it was too late as the ball goes out of play for a goal kick.

86′ Tanmoy clears the free kick, and the play that follows has a shot from Bino George’s side right into the gloves of Priyant

86′ Arjun Jayaraj tries to go on attack and Jay Baz stops him in his tracks and Supriya concedes a foul in favour of Kerala

85′ A mistake by Kerala defence is just contained by Midhun as he gets to the ball before Supriya, who was making a run to get to the ball

83′ Bengal’s Shubhendu kicks the ball long, but the yellow wall forced the play back into Bengal;s half and Jesin’s through ball reaches Priyant who ends that attack of Kerala

82′ Shubhendu clears the ball, but Kerala goes on attack again as the fans chant, “GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! AE ALE ALE!”

81′ Save! Kerala manages to keep the ball in play after a failed clearance by Bengal, but the cross is intercepted by Monotosh and Priyant jumps to it to stop that development of attack

80′ Just 10 more minutes of regulation time left as both teams keep fighting. Each team has had 13 shots! However, no goals to show for a result so far

78′ Arjun, Noufal and Jesin get together for another attakc for Kerala, but the final pass off Arjun is just too forceful as the ball goes out for a goal kick

77′ Chance! Supriya gets the ball into the box from the right and Fardin heads it. However, the ball flies over the goal. Off-target that!

77′ As the match begins, it is game on again as ore than 26,000 fans cheer on in the final of Santosh Trophy 2022

75′ Cooling breakk as the teams gather up before the final quarter of the match!

74′ Kerala forces Bengal to make forward runs, but Midhun is there to contain any chances of a breakthrough for the 32-time Santosh trophy winner

73′ Substitution for Kerala! In: Bibin Ajayan, Out: Ajay Alex

72′ Kerala’s player, Ajay Alex, looks to be seriously injured and is carried off the field. A very very sad sight for football fans as the player leaves the fiels with applause from the fans

70′ Substitution for West Bengal! In: Supriya Pandit, Out: Mahitosh Roy

69′ Jesin’s shot is cleared by a well-manned Bengal defence and Priyant fists the ball away on the follow-up to put that attack of Kerala, to bed

68′ Fardin takes the free kick, which was targeted for Mahitosh, but the Bengal player fails get on time and Kerala goes on attack

67′ Noufal delivers a key cross from the right for Jijo, but Shubhanedu is there to clear the ball away and Bengal gets a free kick in the other half in the follow-up play

66′ A hand-ball by Bengal gifts Kerala a free kick. Arjun takes the free kick, which is too high for goal as the ball flies miles over the target

64′ Shot! Jesin gets the ball in front of the penalty box and shoots. This time, however, his shot is off-target

62′ Save! Bengal atacks on the counter, with the ball moving from Dilip to Mahitosh, but his cross is saved by midhun, who clings to the ball after a stumble

60′ We are an hour into the match and key misses and good saves have kept the match locked at 0-0 in Manjeri

58′ Miss! A defensive blunder by the Bengal dedefence gifts the ball to Jijo, who shoots off target. What a miss by the Kerala captain

57′ Chance! Sajal delivers a ball for Fardin, but excellent defending by Kerala gives Bengal a corner kick. The corner kick, taken by Fardin, is caught by Midhun

56′ Bengal back to building from the bal with Monotosh and Shubhendu pairing at the back, but the latter’s long ball is caught by Midhun

54′ Jijo Joseph looks to be lying on the ground with a cramp. It does not look good for Bino George’s team. Kerala’s medical team attends to the team’s captain as he limps off the field

53′ Jijo tries to carry the ball form the midfield into the final third, but Nabi Khan stops that attack again and despite appeals form the fans, the referee does not give a foul

51′ Kerala has not lost a single match this season in the Santosh Trophy and has beat Bengal already inthe group stage. Tonight, howeverm Bengal has looked an extremely tight side to break

50′ Foul for Kerala as Bengal continues to press and a free kick to Kerala. The free-kick lands right into the gloves of Priyant

49′ Kerala’s Sanju tries to build an attack from the back as the ball moves from him to Shighil and then Noufal gets the ball along the righ, HIs cross is again intercepted by Priyant

48′ Bengal steals the ball off Jijo and kicks the ball long. However, no receiver for the pass as Kerala gets a throw-in in its own half

46′ Save! Noufal makes a run from the right wing, beats Bengal’s defence and shoots, but Priyant saves it again

Second-Half begins! Salal replaces Sujit Singh at Half-Time for Bengal. Mahitosh kisses the ball and kicks off the second half

Half-Time

Kerala 0-0 West Bengal

In spite of nine shots from bothe sides combines, excellent work by Priyant and Midhun has kept the score locked at 0-0 in Manjeri in the Santosh Trophy 2022 final at the halfway mark.

45′ It is a battle in the left wing in the Kerala Half as Soyal and Dilip get together and the Kerala player gets the better off Bengal, but eventually Bengal gets the ball back

44′ Free Kick! Arjun Jayaraaj takes the free kick, which is right on target, but Priyant, as usual is on top of it

43′ We are almost done in the first half and neither of the teams has given up. It is a tight battle and a warning from the referee for Nabi Hussain Khan, after a foul

41′ Bengal tries the long-ball approach with an aerial pass for Dilip along the left, but Midhun intercepts the pass, pushing the ball back into action for Kerala

38′ Substitution for Kerala! In: Jesin TK, Out: Viknesh

37′ Save! Mohitosh Roy barges in from the left and dribbles across the Kerala defence and shoots on target and Midhun makes a key save

36′ The corner kick is headed away by Bengal as Jau Baz kicks the ball out of danger

34′ WHAT A SAVE! Kerala attacks along the wings, with Sanju making a key cross. Priyant gets a touch to stop Kerala as it get a corner kick

33′ Kerala attacks on the counter and the final shot is off-target. What a miss by Bino George’s side that!

32′ Match resumes with a Kerala throw-in with Shighil carrying the ball along the left, but WB gets the ball back after a goal kick

31′ Time for a cooling break as the coaches get to their teams to re-evaluate the opponents! Neither can afford a mistake in the final.

29′ Soyal makes a run along the right wing and crosses, which is intercepted by Priyant to end that attack by Kerala

27′ A long ball by Shubhendu Mandi lands in the gloves of Midhun, the Kerala goalie as Kerala gets the ball back again.

26′ Priyant gets the ball into action with a long goal kick, but Kerala gets to it yet again. The second quarter has been one completely in control of Bino George’s team

24′ Jijo passes to Gilbert as the ball moves to Shigil, but the play that follows has Priyant again having the ball in his gloves. The Bengal keeper has been the busier one of the two, tonight

23′ Dilip carries the ball along the left flank and crosses to Mahitosh, but the Bengal player misses the target and Ranjan, the head-coach, is astonished

21′ Priyant and Jijo go for the ball and Priyant wins the battle as Kerala gets a throw-in. Any delay by the Bengal goalie could have given Kerala a penalty

20′ A penetrating long pass by Monotosh from the back falls to the opponent’s goalie as Bengal continues to ask questions to the side in yellow in its home soil

19′ Free Kick! Joseph takes the free kick, which lands in the gloves of Priyant

18′ Foul! Kerala tries to head the ball into the opposition box and gets a foul from a scoring position. Jijo Joseph steps up for the free-kick

17′ Chance! Priyant delays a goal kick and Kerala runs to him as the WB goalie manages to clear the ball somehow

15′ Miss! Mahitosh gets a cross from the right, but poor shot in the circumstances leads to absolutely nothing for Bengal

14′ Jijo Joseph tries to steal the ball  from the midfield and passes to Arjun Jayraj, but his through ball has too much force as the ball goes out for a goal kick

13′ Foul! Jay Baz tries to get the ball through a rash chalenge and ends up fouling Arjun and the free-kick is taken quickly

12′ Another corner kick for Bengal! However, a poor kick by Fardin gifts the ball to Kerala for a goal kick

10′ Arjun tries to go on attack for Kerala, but Tuhil comes ot Bengal’s rescue and then another attempt that follows is cleared by Monotosh. The captain is leading by example at the moment

9′ Corner for Bengal as the 32-time winner looks for a breakthrough. Fardin takes the corner, but Kerala clears it for a Bengal throw-in

7′ Shigil makes a run along the left wing, but is surrounded by the Bengal defence and finally Soyal shoots. Priyant confortably gets to it with the shot lacking any force whatsoever

6′ Monotosh controls the ball at the back for West Bengal, but his pass goes out for a Kerala throw. The throw is contained by the boys in white-and-blue and Bengal gets the ball in action from another throw-in

5′ Chance! Bengal’s corner is headed in by Nabi, but the ball in inches away as Bengal misses another chance to take an early lead

5′ Jay Baz with a long ball for Dilip, but it is clared by Kerala, but Dilip steals the ball back and earna a corner

2′ Bengal has four men at the back right on position as Kerala tries to find a gap through long balls. But one that finally goes through falls to WB goalie Priyant

1′ Chance! Fardin gets the ball off a cross from the left, but the forward fails to  get to it on time as Kerala escape an early goal

1′ West Bengal starts playing from the back, but Kerala gets possession back and Ajay flies the ball into the Bengal half.

8-00 pm: Kick Off!

7-55 pm: The players are out on the ground and line up for the National Anthem of India. Kerala is in yellow and West Bengal starts in white-and-blue.

7-45 pm: HEAD-TO-HEAD: Kerala and West Bengal have met 31 times and WB has won 15 times and Kerala has won eight matches.

The two sides have met in the Santosh Trophy this year previously and it was Kerala that came out as a winner, with a 2-0 scoreline at full-time.

7-30 pm: What are the coaches saying?

Bino George, Kerala Head Coach: “I am very happy. The last match, we fought well and got good score in front of these people. Today also people have come here for a gift. I hope my boys can do tremendous work today. We have already played against Bengal, but today, it is a different match, it’s the final. So we respect Bengal, but we want the trophy.” Ranjan Bhattacharjee, West Bengal Head Coach: “Today’s match is a vital match for us. We had lost a Group D match against Kerala previously. So, in today’s match, we have to win and become champion of the Santosh Trophy.”

7-15 pm: No change for Kerala!

Bino George Chiramal has decided to go with a completely unchanged side that started against Karnataka in the semifinal. Kerala’s hero from its last match, Jesin TK, starts form the bench — as he did in the last fixture as well.

Ranjan Bhattacharjee’s West Bengal starts with just one change from its last match against Manipur. The team starts with five defenders, with Nabi Hussain Khan coming on to replace Basu Deb Mandi.

7-00 pm: Starting Lineups out!

Kerala Starting XI: Midhun V(GK); Ajay Alex, Muhammed Saheef, Sanju G, Soyal Joshi; Jijo Joseph (C), Muhammad Rashid, Shighil, Arjun Jayaraj, Nijo Gilbert; Viknesh M

Bengal Starting XI: Priyant Singh (GK); Tuhin Das, Monotosh Chakladar (C), Nabi Hussain Khan,Subhendu Mandi, Jay Baz; Sujit Singh, Mohitosh, Tanmoy Ghosh; MD Fardin, Dilip

6-45 pm: The stadium is full with fans as Bengal looks to find its first victory against Kerala in the Santosh Trophy. (Video Credits:  AIFF Media Team)

MATCH PREVIEW

To say that Bengal has its task cut out against Kerala in the final of the Santosh Trophy National football championship at the Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium on Monday night would be an understatement.

Bengal faces a side that stormed into the final after slamming seven goals in the semifinal. That side will be playing in front of some of the most passionate football fans you would come across anywhere in the world – and there would be some 25,000 of them.

When the two teams met early on in the competition, in the group stage, the host had won 2-0. So form too favours Kerala. But Bengal could fall back on history, though. It has won the tournament 32 times and was the runner-up on 13 occasions.

Kerala has lifted the trophy six times. Its last triumph came in 2018, when it defeated Bengal in a shootout at Kolkata.

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Four years and a pandemic later, the two powerhouses of Indian football promise another fascinating final. The focus in this final would certainly be on the Kerala striker T.K. Jesin, who scored five goals after coming on as substitute against Karnataka in the semifinal.

Jijo Joseph is another player Bengal needs to be wary of. The captain has not just been scoring goals for Kerala, but creating them as well.

Bengal is also capable of playing some fine attacking football, as it showed in its 3-0 win in the semifinal against Manipur. Its strikers Fardin Ali Moll and Dilip Orawn could cause concern for the Kerala defence.

Where can you watch the match?

The Kerala vs Bengal match will kick-off at 8-00 pm and will not be telecast on live TV. However, the match can be watched online on Indian Football Team’s Facebook page.