West Bengal edged past defending champions Services 4-2 to enter the final of the 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy here on Sunday.
The winners led 3-0 at half time.
The win marked West Bengal’s 47th appearance in the tournament’s final, which they have won a record 32 times.
The match saw West Bengal asserting their authority early on.
Manotos Maji and Naro Hari Shrestha each scored a goal, while Robi Hansda, the tournament’s leading scorer with 11 goals, added a brace to his tally to bag the Player-of-the-Match award.
Services, on the back foot for much of the first half, managed to score through Bikash Thapa and an own goal by West Bengal, which added some suspense to the proceedings in the second half.
