Bengal kicked off their Santosh Trophy campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Punjab in the opening game of the national football championships here on Saturday.

Shubham Bhowmick scored the all-important goal in the 61st minute. Sajal Bag drifted wide, beat his marker and sent in a lob into the Punjab box. Bhowmick’s first-time volley hit the inside of the far post and went in leaving goalkeeper Harpreet Singh helpless.

Bengal could have doubled the lead four minutes later. Midfielder Tanmoy Ghosh collected the ball 30 yards out and unleashed a shot only for a diving Harpreet to palm it on to the crossbar and to safety.

The tournament’s two most successful teams showed attacking intent right from the start, seeking to grab all three points from the Group A match. The chances flowed at both ends fairly quickly.

In the eighth minute, Bengal goalkeeper Priyant Singh made a fine save off a Jashandeep Singh free kick. The rebound was too quick for Amarpreet Singh to capitalise on and the ball rolled wide.

Punjab did not concede a single goal during their qualifying campaign but against Bengal they faced their stiffest test. They conceded possession often in the first half and Harpreet was called into action several times.

In the 20th minute, Harpreet made his first save of the game, parrying Basudeb Mandi’s long range swerving shot to safety. And yet it was Punjab who could have gone into the break with the lead.

A long punt from the Punjab half was misjudged by Bengal captain Monotosh Chakladar. The ball fell to Tarun Slathia a few yards outside the box. Slathia collected neatly and charged in but with only goalkeeper Priyant to beat he dragged the shot wide.