Hemanta Vincent Biswas, centre, is the toast of his teammates after his sublime goal against Sri Lanka that gave Bangladesh a 1-0 win and a passage into the semifinal of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup football tournament at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Both Lodewijk de Kruif and his counterpart Nikola Kavazovic heaped lavish praise on young midfielder Hemanta Vincent Biswas for his sparkling performance which earned Bangladesh a 1-0 win against Sri Lanka at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who had won the number 10 jersey in a sparkling debut against India in Goa last March, proved to be the difference in yesterday's game as he scored a screaming volley and was denied a further couple of goals by some last-ditch clearances from the Lankans. De Kruif felt Hemanta should have bagged a hat-trick.

“I told him (Hemanta) after the game he should have scored three times,” the Dutch coach said in his post-match press briefing, with the youngster sitting by his side.

“We must be very happy because Bangladesh has got a player like him. He is only 18 years old but he can perform in an international level like this. This is a guy with big promise,” added de Kruif.

Hemanta, who burst into the limelight after an impressive performance in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers last year, felt he proved his worth as the chief playmaker of the team.

“I am really happy that Bangladesh won the game through my strike. I think I proved my worth of wearing the number 10 jersey, which was not given to me due to the coach's affection, but considering the formation and the style of play,” said the player of the match.

Hemanta's growth as the pre-eminent play-maker of the team was spotted early by de Kruif and the Dinajpur lad and since then, Hemanta has grown in strength in domestic competitions as well as making ten appearances till date for the senior national and under-23 team.

The Sri Lanka coach reserved the best praise for Hemanta, terming the starlet as the biggest potential of Bangladesh and his strike a 'masterpiece'.

“They scored one goal that was not by chance. It was simply a masterpiece. If they played against Japan today they would have scored the same way,” said the Serbian.

“(Hemanta) Biswas is the biggest potential of Bangladesh football. The current generation is finishing in two or three years and he will be the next Mamunul Islam.”

Overall the Serbian felt that the Bangladesh players were in better physical condition and pace than three months ago when the two sides had met and that they used the flanks better in yesterday's game.