Santosh Trophy final: Railways aim to stifle Mizoram midfield

SILIGURI: Mizoram will appear in their maiden Santosh Trophy final while Railways have made it to the title clash for the first time since finishing runners-up in 1986-87.
Standing on the brink of creating history, it is quite obvious that both Mizoram and three-time champions Railways will be eager not to stumble at the last hurdle when they face each other in the summit clash of the 68th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Kanchenjunga Stadium here on Sunday.
Mizoram are on a dream run, having won all their matches stretching back to the qualifiers and have been the most entertaining side of the final phase in Siliguri. Railways, on the other hand, are unbeaten in the final phase and have beaten teams like Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra on way to the final.
Though Mizoram will start favourites, viewers on Sunday can expect a keenly-contested game. What could also work in Mizoram's favour is that both first-choice central defenders of Railways — Vimal Kumar and Rajiv Boro — are booked out for Sunday's game.
Mizoram will look to play like they have done so far — controlling the midfield and lashing at the rival defence with fast-paced attacks. They had some trouble doing that in the first half of their semifinal clash against Tamil Nadu on Friday but they are focused to ensure that they get their act right from the beginning.
Railways, who last won the title in 1966, would be keen to block Mizoram in the midfield, slow down the pace of match and rely on PC Riju, S Rajesh and Sibra Narzary for speedy counters.
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