Kolkata, Aug. 8: The wait is over. After a 11-year barren run, Bengal finally pocketed their 30th Santosh Trophy title outclassing Punjab 2-1 in the final at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
The hosts found an unlikely hero in Denson Devadas, whose brace sunk the eight-time champions. Denson finally shot into limelight after his consistent performances for Chirag United went unnoticed over the seasons. Punjab took the lead in the 30th minute through Balwant Singh but Bengal had the better of the exchanges throughout. With Denson and Jayanta Sen controlling the midfield, the hosts bottled up the Punjab strike force.
Bengal would have been first on the scoresheet had Tarif Ahmed’s header not crashed against the upright with goalkeeper Paramjit Singh beaten, in the 18th minute.
Soon, Balwant headed in a Rahul Kumar pass into the Bengal goal. Goalkeeper Abhra Mondal was late to react, and missed the flight to allow Balwant a free header.
Sensing trouble, coach Shabbir Ali brought in Souvik Chakraborty to bolster the midfield at the expense of striker Tarif Ahmed. The move paid off as attacks began to flow. Just when it appeared that Punjab would go into the break with an all-important lead, Devadas timed his jump to perfection in between two rival players and nodded home captain Snehashis Chakraborty’s curling corner.