'Fitness, confidence made the difference'

Arambagh's veteran coach Maruful Haque felt that confidence and energy were the deciding factors behind the stunning triumph in the Independence Cup as his youthful side upstaged defending champions Chittagong Abahani 2-0 in the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The former national coach had guided star-studded sides like Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel to league and cup triumphs many a times previously. However, he had a barren couple of years as success eluded him at the club level while he also failed to deliver the goods with the national team.

But that barren run has now come to an end, surprisingly with a side which only finished eighth in the league and were hardly considered to make it to the final. Maruful believes the fitness of his youngsters and his tactics played a key role in the victory.

"Each time I guided my teams to trophies previously, I had star players and rich squads at my disposal. This time it was different. We have won this title due to our tactics and also the superior energy of the players," the UEFA A licensed coach said after the match.

"I believe our players had more energy than the opposition. They [Chittagong Abahani] had looked fatigued and lacked confidence ahead of the final. I am happy that my players have delivered on the gameplan and I would consider this victory as perhaps the best of my career," added Maruful.

Chittagong Abahani coach Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu, who once played under the guidance of Maruful and also worked as his deputy for different clubs, felt the same even though he blamed his players' approach in the final as well.

"It is true that our players played too many matches recently [some of the players were loaned to Saif SC for their AFC Cup campaign recently]. There was definitely a shortage of fitness among the players. However, they also could not apply my instructions on the pitch," Mintu said.

"I had instructed them that the opposition would play quick counter-attacks and they did, but we failed to apply the quick transition from going forward to retrieving to defend. There was hardly any marking on both goal-scorers during those goals" Mintu said.

While the title capped off a lackluster start to Arambagh's campaign with a massive triumph, it ended a frustrating season for the port city outfit, who had promised much yet failed to win any silverware.