New SAFF kings
Bangladesh crowned themselves undisputed kings of South Asia by lifting the third edition of the SAFF Championship with a 5-3 tiebreak win against Maldives last night.
Central defender Sujon capped a fabulous 11-day fairytale run converting the fifth penalty, sending the Maldives custodian Imran Mohammed the wrong way. And as soon the ball kissed the net, the jam-packed Bangabandhu National Stadium roared in deafening approval.
The absorbing final went into a shootout after the 120 minutes of thrills and spills ended 1-1. Rokonuzzaman Kanchan, the talismanic striker, gave the home team a 13th minute lead. But Maldives sprang to life through a 57th strike by Ali Umar, sending the match into overtime.
But it only set the stage for the home booters to bid a fitting farewell to their best friend and mentor -- George Kottan. In charge for the last time, Kottan's two-year spell with Bangladesh ended in December. He will be flying home on January 25 with ever-lasting memories.
The mercury reached boiling point when the game went into the tie-breaker and Kottan's boys became men of steel. Starting from Nazrul, who had luck on his side as his shot entered the net hitting the crosspiece, no one else missed from 12 yards. Farhad, Hasan al Mamun and Mahmudul Hasan had all portrayed character when it was needed most.
Then came the turn of Sujon after Aminul made the decisive save, guessing to dive right and divert Ashraf Luthfy's powerful shot.
The celebrations began when Sujon made it a perfect five. The big bowl turned into a sea of red and green as everybody ran on to the field to have a feel of their heroes.
Though winning on penalties is a somewhat cruel way to decide a game, but it would have been an injustice if Bangladesh had not lifted the title after playing so well throughout the tournament.
The home team could have settled the issue in the regulation 90 minutes had striker Alfaz not wasted two easy first-half chances. Bangladesh were even unlucky in the sudden death extra time.
Wonder boy Mutiur Munna, who struck the golden goal against arch foes India in the semifinal, could made history a second time in the 108th minute when he drove a scorching right-footer from outside the box. Unfortunately, it came off the crossbar.
The tiny islanders found themselves in a hostile mainland as they were greeted by a fifty thousand crowd baying for blood.
Bangladesh began the match from where they had left off against India on Saturday, dominating the first 45 minutes against their panic-stricken opponents.
Arman, the outstanding performer of the tournament, slipped a wicked through pass to Parvez who hit a first time cross deep into Maldives territory where Kanchan got enough space and time to place the ball into the net with his favourite left foot.
Bangladesh tried to sit on their slender lead in the second half instead of going for more goals. The ploy backfired when Kottan pulled Alfaz out. That gave Maldives more space in the midfield and the islanders seized the opportunity from a quick counter-attack.
Ashraf galloped down the right flank before releasing a dangerous low cross beyond Aminul and Ali Umar sprinting down the other end made no mistake to stab the ball home from close.
The battle over, President Prof. Iajuddin Ahmed presented the glittering trophy to Bangladesh captain Hasan-al Mamun.
Mamun donned the captain's armband in place of suspended Rajani Kanta Barman.
Rajani, the rock of Bangladesh's defence, may have missed out on being a part of the dream final, nevertheless was named the tournament's most valuable player.
Bangladesh completed a delightful double having won the SAF Games gold in Kathmandu in 1999.
Yellow cards: Munna, Parvez, Farhad (Bangladesh), Ali Umar and Ahmed Naaz (Maldives).
TEAMS
BANGLADESH: Aminul, Titu, Sujon, Hasan-al Mamun, Nazrul, Parvez, Motiur Munna, Arman, Joy, Kanchan and Alfaz (Farhad).
MALDIVES: Imran, Amil, Nizam, Ali Umar (Ismail), Azeem, Ghani, Naad, Habeeb (Fazeel), Luthfy and Ali Shiham (Naseem).
Referee: AD Silva (Sri Lanka)