Kerala booked their spot in the 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy final by beating Manipur 5-1 in the second semi-final on December 29bet88, Sunday. This was the 16th time Kerala entered the final. (More Sports News)

A late Muhammad Roshal PP hat-trick put the gloss on a brilliant team performance from Kerala who will now take on old rivals West Bengal for the trophy.

West Bengal and Kerala will clash in the final at the Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad, with the kick-off schedule at 7:30 pm.

In a high-octane first half, Kerala struck first, thanks to their brilliant midfield play paying out the dividends in the 22nd minute of the game. After some passing that shifted the play constantly, and dragged Manipur's midfield out of shape, Muhammed Riyas played a through ball into the gap towards Muhammed Ajsal.

The forward let the ball go through, having anticipated his supporting forward Naseeb Rahman making a run up front.

Known as 'The Wall' for his impeccable skills in front of the goalpost, Sreejesh was instrumental in guiding the team through remarkable successes, including two Asian Games gold medals, and two Champions Trophy silver medals.

Japan struggled in the first quarter as Pakistan Ammad Butt's team dominated and ended the first quarter with a lead. Then they went on to double the lead in the second quarter.

Rahman then picked up the ball 25 yards from goal, entered the box, rounded the Manipuri goalkeeper and finished with aplomb to give Kerala a deserved lead.

The North East state had faced a similar situation earlier in the tourney and it helped them in the semi-final whenin the 30th minute, from a long throw-in, Nijo Gilbert handled the ball in the box to give Manipur a lifeline back in the game. Shunjantan Ragui made no mistake from the resulting penalty, slamming it into the roof of the net.

BY Outlook Sports Desk

The game was on a knife edge when the momentum turned in the latter stages of the first half. S Hajmal's spill in the danger zone from a wayward Manipur shot resulted in a frenzy hastily cleared away. And in first half injury time came the piece de resistance, a breakaway Kerala move giving them the lead once again.

Right from the left wingbet88, Riyas drifted in towards the byline and curled in a shot to give Kerala a much-deserved lead going into the second half.