Kerala advanced to their fourth consecutive final in the National Football Championship, for the Santosh Trophy, when they beat Services 2-0 in an absorbing contest at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on Thursday.
The large number of Kerala supporters, who cheered each move of the team, erupted when substitute Naushad Pari sealed the fate of Services, scoring the second goal in injury time, after K M Abdul Naushad put Kerala ahead in the 28th minute of the first semi-final.
It was Kerala's fourth straight entry into the final of the tournament since 1999-2000, in Thrissur, when they lost to Maharashtra in the summit clash.
The following year they won the title in Mumbai before losing the crown to Manipur in 2002.
Till Pari's goal, Services, who were out to extract revenge for their semi-final defeat in the last edition of the tournament, were in with a chance as they fought back superbly after the break.
Inspired by goalkeeper N Abungopi Singh's outstanding performance, who repeatedly brought off stunning saves, Services prevented Kerala from scoring again till the dying moments despite being down to 10 men after playmaker M Reghu Kumar was ejected in the 43rd minute following a second yellow card.
Kerala failed to make use of their numerical advantage and Services breathed a sigh of relief when Kerala medio N P Pradeep too picked two yellows cards and was given marching orders by the referee in the 71st minute.
For the next 20-odd minutes it was pulsating end-to-end action, with Services searching for the equaliser and Kerala counter attacking brilliantly.
The first half saw Kerala threatening through their speedy attacks which revolved around Naushad, Abdul Hakkeem and skipper S Ignatius.
Kerala took the lead following a combined move by Shabeer Ali, who was in outstanding form, Hakkeem and Naushad.
Ali went up through the right, relayed the ball to Hakkeem, who found an unmarked Naushad lurking inside the box. The 23-year-old made no mistake with his first-timed right-footer as the Kerala fans went up in joy.
Services came close to restoring parity within the next five minutes when striker Shaji A D'Silva got a golden opportunity. It was Vijay Thapa who did all the hard work and got the ball to Shaji inside the box fooling the Kerala defence. But with just the 'keeper, M V Nelson, to beat Shaji blasted the shot wide as the Services bench watched in disbelief.
The Navy man almost made amends two minutes later when he moved in through the right, found space inside the box and came up with a dipping shot that beat Nelson before hitting the top of the upright and bounced out.
Shaji again almost spoiled the Kerala supporters' party when his powerful shot was blocked by the 'keeper, who gathered the ball on his second attempt just before Thapa came in to tap the rebound.
With Services threatening to score the equaliser, came Reghu Kumar's clumsy shoulder challenge on the Kerala captain, who was trying to move up through the left.
The tough challenge saw Ignatius collapsing to the turf and Goan referee Benjamin D'Silva had no hesitation in flashing the dreaded card. Kumar had got his first caution for a similar offence in the 26th minute.
The change of ends saw Kerala relaxing a bit and Services upping the tempo.
But after Shaji again failed with his finishing, Kerala threatened to take the game away in the 58th minute following another combination -- this time between M K Sunil, Naushad and Hakkeem.
It was Hakkeem's turn to oblige the fans but his fine header was stopped superbly by the 'keeper for one of the numerous saves made by him. The next minute Abungobi again emerged Services' saviour as he blocked an attempt by Ignatius.
Eleven minutes after resumption, Services coach Stanley Rozario replaced Samuel Tluanga with A Thirunavukarasu and the move worked well as the Services moves got more sting.
Soon Kerala made their first change replacing Naushad with Pari. Pari's efforts to bulldoze his way past Services defenders did not exactly work till he scored in the second minute of injury time.
Pradeep's exit came when he challenged Shaji, who was making a dangerous run through the right flank. Once again the referee showed no mercy as both teams were reduced to 10-men.
