'Best goal of my life'
Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam termed yesterday's goal against South Asian powerhouse Afghanistan as the best goal of his career and the most significant moment of his football life.
The 28-year-old midfielder ran straight to the Bangladesh dug out and celebrated with coach Lodewijk de Kruif and the rest of his teammates after driving a powerful left-footed shot from outside the box to beat Afghanistan goalkeeper Mansur Faqiryar in the 83rd minute of the match,
“This is the best goal of my career and probably the most significant moment of my life,” said the skilful midfielder who was soaked with emotions as he led his teammates into the dressing room at the end of the final whistle.
“I said before leaving home that beating Afghanistan was our first target. We have achieved that target and now we want to concentrate on the second match (against Uzbekistan on Thursday),” Mamunul told a handful of reporters from Bangladesh, who were allowed entry inside the dressing room, thanks to the revelling mood of the players and generosity of the coach. The latter credited his charges for their brave effort.
“It was a very good performance. There was a game plan that we wanted to apply against Afghanistan and we did it successfully,” said De Kruif, who notched up his third win with the Bangladesh team since March 2013.
Given the gulf of difference between the two sides and the dominance on the field from the Afghans – who are 41 places above Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings and boast as many as seven players who ply their trade in Europe – De Kruif considered it as a 'surprise win'.
“It is a surprise win,” said the 44-year-old Dutchman at the post-match press conference. “It is a surprise result as I was only 25 per cent optimistic about the win. Our organisation in the second half was very good. Our boys gave their hundred per cent effort and they fought for the nation.”
With matches coming up against favourites Uzbekistan and higher-ranked Hong Kong, De Kruif knows a win out of those two matches could catapult Bangladesh into the second round, a stage they never reached before. However, the Dutchman was keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“It is difficult to say (whether we can qualify) because we still have two matches left. We can only think of our game plan and with a little bit of luck like today, we can even see three points,” said De Kruif. “As a coach, I rely on tactics and will be happy with three points. Let's see what happens in the next matches.”
De Kruif was certainly feeling a lot happier after the second match between Uzbekistan and Hong Kong, which ended in a 1-1 draw and kept Bangladesh on top of Group B.
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