Faisal, Miraj giving coach hope
With four goals in two matches including a hattrick, Bangladesh U-15 team's forward Faisal Ahmed Fahim is buzzing with confidence. The tenth grader from Sirajganj scored a hattrick as Bangladesh thrashed Sri Lanka 4-0 in the opening match of the SAFF U-15 Championship. He went on to add another in the 3-0 drubbing of Bhutan as the defending champions sealed the top spot from the group to set up a semifinal clash against Nepal.
Faisal believes the semifinal match will be a tough one, but he is confident of adding to his goal tally and taking his side to the final.
“I feel really happy after scoring goals in both matches and it has increased my confidence about scoring in upcoming matches. Besides, we are optimistic about doing well in the last four battle as the whole team is performing well in line with the coach's instructions,” Faisal said over phone yesterday.
“As I got goals in both matches, I may be blocked by the opposition players in the semifinal. So I will try to help my teammates score and take Bangladesh to the final,” said Faisal, who was part of the plate-group champions Bangladesh U-14 team in Super Mokh Cup in Malaysia last year.
Faisal, who was a student of the non-functioning BFF Academy in Sylhet, did not get any goals in Malaysia, but he had previously scored 12 goals to help Arambagh FA clinch the title of the 2016 Pioneer Football League.
“As a team, we are performing well by implementing our game plans and if we can do that too in the semifinal, we can expect another win,” said Faisal.
Bangladesh team's coach Parvez Babu praised the youngster for his movement, skill and scoring ability.
“Faisal is a speedy player with good ability to dribble and score. He looks confident on the pitch and he is always hungry for doing something during matches,” Babu said. “I think he will be more matured the more he plays. If we can provide proper facilities to boys like Faisal, they can become really good footballers in future.”
The coach will definitely bank on Faisal's exploits to overcome the semifinal hurdle, but he has other match-winners like Miraj Hossain Mollah at his disposal.
There are a few players in the squad that were part of Bangladesh U-14 team in the Super Mokh Cup which was also guided by Babu who believes that being part of that team helped the current team gel together.
“There are six to seven players in the squad who were part of the Mokh Cup team, so it is helping me a lot to transfer my ideas among the boys. Bangladesh have been improving match by match and two successive wins made the players confident ahead of the semifinal.
“We have created a lot of scoring chances in both matches but converted only seven. If we can avail the scoring opportunities, we can definitely expect a win in the semifinal,” said the former national booter.
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