Hattrick for Mymensingh
Mymensingh clinched a hattrick of titles of the JFA U-14 Women's Football Championship with a 3-0 win over Thakurgaon at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Rozina Akter and Shamsunnar, who reached the capital from Mymensingh yesterday morning after sitting for their JSC exams on Thursday, shared three goals against first-time finalists Thakurgaon.
Even though the final was officially between two districts, it was virtually a battle among two remote villages where the girls from Kalsindur emerged victorious and added another feather to their brief yet glorious history in women's football. The girls from Rangatungi, however, did not disappoint the crowd with their performance despite the fact that they started playing football just three years ago.
The girls' game had once been a disorganised show due to lack of footballing sense and hardly drew any attention, but the standards have increased significantly and now the girls, who started playing football through the Bangamata Gold Cup Primary School tournament, possess all the skills necessary to enthral spectators.
The third goal of the match was exceptional. Mymensingh built up the attack from their own half before Yeasmin dissected two defenders with a pass to right-winger Amena Khatun, who raced into the box before releasing a low cross for Shamsunnahar to flick home.
Yesterday's final was also an entertaining affair considering the age of the players and both teams did their utmost to come out with a victory. Ultimately Mymensingh proved too strong for Thakurgaon, who did a commendable job of keeping a clean-sheet in the second half.
Mymensingh captain Yeasmin Akter predicted that the match would be a tough one at the pre-match press conference, but in reality it was a one-way affair as they were bolstered by the returns of goalkeeper Prunima Akater, Shamsunnahar and top-scorer Rozina -- whose brace in the final took her tally to 14 goals -- who had failed to play the last two matches due to their exams.
National women's team head coach Golam Rabbani Choton selected a few players from among both teams for the ongoing training camp for the SAFF U-15 Championship with hopes of grooming the girls in training and honing their skills, similar to what he has done with players like Krishna Rani, Sanjida Akter, Israt Jahan Mousumi, Sirat Jahan Swapna, Masura Parvin and many others.
Mymensigh coach Salahuddin dedicated their title to former U-15 player Sabina Yeasmin, who died last September due to fever, while Thakurgaon coach Suga Murmu expressed his happiness with the way his inexperienced charges played throughout the final.
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