{"id":6526,"date":"2012-05-24T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=6526"},"modified":"2012-05-24T12:00:49","modified_gmt":"2012-05-24T12:00:49","slug":"santosh-trophy-services-take-on-kerala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=6526","title":{"rendered":"Santosh Trophy: Services take on Kerala in semis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/football\/services-haryana.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Services take on Kerala in first Santosh Trophy semifinal\" style=\"float: left; margin: 6px;\" \/><strong>Cuttack<\/strong>: The heat wave hits you the moment you step out. You get pierced by hot needles all over. You look around and find women of all ages, faces covered, to protect themselves from the heat. Males obviously don\u2019t have that luxury. A few kilometers away, the Mahanadi, more pebbled than wet, too seems to be bearing the brunt of the summer.<\/p>\n<p>The evenings, however, stay pleasant. A cool breeze blows across and the towers lit up. Even as the cycle of the seasons can\u2019t help us prevent summer from invading our lives, organisers certainly can plan better &#8212; as they have here for the 66th Santosh Trophy. Matches are being played under the lights, the kick-off slated as late till 6.30pm.<\/p>\n<p>West Bengal and Santosh Trophy have been synonyms over the years. But in the 66th edition, West Bengal would have to be content on watching from the sidelines as Kerala, Services, Manipur and Tamil Nadu would be battling it out for the top honours \u2013 all at Barabati Stadium which till the other day, played host to SRK\u2019s Kolkata Knight Riders.<\/p>\n<p>In the former capital of Odisha, the Dahi Sharbats for a moment prompt you to believe not all is bad about summers. You look further, and you find football \u2013 the two teams gearing up for a slot in the final of the historic tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Both Services and Kerala have come with a mission. For most of the talented Services footballers who don\u2019t splurge out to play club football in the I-League, the Santosh stays the platform to make a mark. They have been consistent over the years, one has to admit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will play attacking football. That has been our style and we will stick to it,\u201d commented V Sajith Kumar, the Services Coach. \u201cWe will stick to the same combination which played in our last match,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The vastness of the country and commitment to one\u2019s service often pits an individual planning the downfall of his own home state. Sajith, himself a Keralite, laughs it off. In fact, it isn\u2019t him alone. Services also boast of four footballers from Kerala in their first XI.<\/p>\n<p>Kerala Coach MN Jacob stays a bit cautious. \u201cWe are confident but not over confident. In such a match, there\u2019s no room for complacency,\u201d Jacob maintained. \u201cThe flanks stay an important proposition in our plans,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to play consecutive matches but the positive it\u2019s helped us to sort out the perfect combination. We\u2019ve no complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The history book points out Services enjoying an edge against Kerala. Stay certain, Services are not banking on history and Kerala stay desperate to turn tables around. The Historic Barabati Stadium awaits the kick-off at 6.30pm.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Indian Sports News Network<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cuttack: The heat wave hits you the moment you step out. You get pierced by hot needles all over. You look around and find women of all ages, faces covered, to protect themselves from the heat. Males obviously don\u2019t have that luxury. A few kilometers away, the Mahanadi, more pebbled than wet, too seems to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-latest"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Santosh Trophy: Services take on Kerala in semis - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=6526\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Santosh Trophy: Services take on Kerala in semis - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cuttack: The heat wave hits you the moment you step out. 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