Hosts' dominant dress rehearsal
Bangladesh girls thrashed their Indian counterparts 3-0 in the final group-stage game of the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship at the Birshrestha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.
Had it been in any other discipline of sport, it would have been treated as a big achievement for Bangladesh against their big neighbours. But this generation of girls, who have taken their game to new heights since their meteoric rise over the last few years, have actually made it a habit of winning against any team from this region.
The game was a dress rehearsal for Sunday's final and the home side gave a little demo of their superiority over India in the age-group level competition. It was Bangladesh's third straight win against India after their 3-1 and 4-0 results in the AFC U-14 Regional (South and Central) Girls Championship in Tajikistan in 2016.
However, more than the victory it was the free-flowing attacking approach of the Bangladesh girls that entertained a few hundred home fans.
Both Bangladesh and India came into the match after two consecutive wins. India's 10-0 drubbing of Nepal against Bangladesh's six raised an apprehension but the hosts buried fears as they dominated from the outset.
Coach Golam Rabbani Choton decided against starting three key players -- striker Anuching Mogini, midfielder Marzia and striker Sara Ban Tahura. But he was forced to send on Anuching in place of Sajeda Khatun after the forward picked up a strain on her right leg.
Anuching broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute after Bangladesh wasted two good opportunities in the first 12 minutes when she headed a Monica Chakma corner home. Anuching got two more chances to widen the margin but fired her first shot straight at Indian goalkeeper Monika Devi and then hammered a grounder that inched past the mark.
Bangladesh doubled the margin in stoppage time of the first half with Shamsunahar (Sr) converting a penalty after forward Shamsunnahar (Jr) was pushed down inside the box by Indian defender Pakpi Devi.
Bangladesh spent the majority of time after resumption in India's half and the midfielders applied a lot of plays that broke the offside trap, but the forwards looked a bit slow to react and muffed those chances. It was also encouraging to see the new players -- Shamsunnahar (Jr) and Ritu Porna Chakma -- showcasing their skills.
Bangladesh wrapped up the win in the 53rd minute when Monika Chakma beat the offside trap and danced past one player to enter the box before burying a left-footed low shot into the far post.
"Our target was to enthral spectators, play attacking football and win the match and I think the girls did all those things on the ground today [Thursday]," said coach Choton. "The girls proved that they are better than the Indian girls."
Three straight wins from as many matches meant that Bangladesh finished top of the four-team table with a maximum nine points. However, this win only counts if they can repeat the feat against the same opposition come Sunday.