CHENNAI, MARCH 31: The form book predicts a repeat of last year's final as defending champions Bengal and runners-up Goa take on Kerala and Tamil Nadu in their respective semifinals tomorrow and on Friday in the 55th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy here.Exuding confidence, the Bengal and Goa coaches told reporters here they would allow their wards to play their natural game. However, they could not be complacent in dealing with the merits and weaknesses of their rivals, they said.Both Kerala and Tamil Nadu have remained unscathed in the preliminary and quarterfinal leagues. To the hosts' credit, they have performed better in their victories, including in the preliminary league matches. However, Kerala were pitted against strong teams like Maharashtra and Assam, the Imphal National Games finalists, in the quarterfinals.Games winners Maharashtra, who were directly seeded to the last eight, required just a draw against Kerala to progress but lost 1-2, while Kerala beat Assam3-1.Top ranked Bengal will be under pressure to win against Kerala, which does not have big stars in their ranks, but are dependent on solid all-round performances. The teams had last met in the Cuttack National finals when Bengal edged out Kerala 5-4 in the tie breaker, after sharing four goals in regulation time.However, Kerala's Achilles heel could prove to be left wing back Suresh, who will be benched, having received two yellow cards. His absence would be felt most when Kerala play Bengal in the semifinals on April 2. Coach M M Jacob said ``We are not having any plan to mark Bhutia. My boys have been playing natural football, which comes to them quite easily. If they click in all-round performance, we should beat Bengal.''On the other hand, Bengal and Goa, with several stars, have played against stronger oppositions in the National League before participating in the ongoing Santosh Trophy.Apart from Baichung Bhutia, Bengal, winner 28 times in the past, have Joe Paul Ancheri, fully recoveredfrom knee injury Amit Das, Dipendu Biswas and Raman Vijayan, the opportunistic forwards. Defenders Falguni Datta and Debjit Singh can baulk the strongest of attacks, while goalkeeper Prasanta Dora is a reassuring presence under the bar.Goa has remained the only team in the ongoing tournament to have scored confident victories amongst the seeded squads (Maharashtra and Punjab have been ousted by Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively).With seven players from Salgaocar, the winners of the coveted National League title have the best midfield strength, both on paper and on the turf. The Bengal players were witness to Goa's territorial superiority in their 6-0 rout of Karnataka yesterday and would have already started their home work to contain them in case these two teams clash in the final.However, Goa, also like Kerala, have problems of yellow cards and star striker Somatai Shaiza would miss the match against Tamil Nadu tomorrow. Goa's linkmen Jules Alberto, Mario Soares and S Venkatesh could be termed thebest trio available and it would be a herculean task for Tamil Nadu to hold on to the ball against them.Goa coach Shabir Ali felt the team had been denied one more day's rest as their match has been advanced by a day. His main worry would be to screen internationals Syed Sabir Pasha and Hamilton Bobby. These two talented players have an uncanny ball sense. Pasha, in particular, could pose problems to defenders with sheer speed inside the box, while Bobby's curling lobs to the target from outside can spell danger. However, Tamil Nadu, with a mixture of experienced and young players, would go all out to beat the best of the Goan attack and defence.By all counts, a feast of good football will be on view in the remaining three days of the championship, culminating in the final on April 4.
