Santosh Trophy: Kerala storms into final

HYDERABAD: Kerala stormed into the final of the Santosh Trophy football tournament with a resounding 5-1 victory over Manipur in the semifinals. Kerala will face West Bengal in the final, scheduled for 7:30 PM tomorrow in Hyderabad. The victory was powered by a hat-trick from PP Mohammed Roshel and goals from Naseeb Rahman and Muhammad Ajsal.

Kerala opened the scoring in the 26th minute through Naseeb Rahman. It was Naseeb's eighth goal in the tournament's final round. However, Manipur equalized within eight minutes through defender Shunjanthan Ragui. Kerala regained the lead in the first minute of injury time in the first half, with Mohammed Ajsal finding the back of the net.

Kerala coach Biby Thomas’s tactical substitution in the 68th minute, bringing on PP Mohammed Roshel in place of Nijo Gilbert, paid off brilliantly. Roshel scored in the 73rd minute, tightening Kerala's grip on the match. He added his second goal in the 88th minute and completed his hat-trick during injury time just before the final whistle.

The only setback for Kerala was Manoj Marcos receiving a second yellow card during injury time, resulting in a marching order.