Hosts clinch thriller
Two brilliant saves from substitute goalkeeper Abu Nippon powered Bangladesh to a thrilling 4-3 shootout win over China in the Hero Asia Cup at Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium last night.
The position-deciding match rolled into shootouts after Bangladesh came from behind to enforce a 3-3 draw in regulation time and it was Nippon, who brilliantly stopped Chinese players Ao Suozhu and Guo Ziaoping to ensure Bangladesh finished at least sixth in the eight-team tournament and guarantee an automatic qualification for the next Asia Cup.
In a nail-biting shootout, after Nippon had thwarted Ziaoping's fifth and final shot, it was up to captain Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, arguably the best player for the hosts last night, to send the home crowd into a frenzy and Jimmy did not disappoint. He coolly converted, took off his jersey and rushed towards the gallery.
It was the second meeting between the two sides since Bangladesh beat China 3-2 in the inaugural Hockey World League Round-2 in Delhi in 2013. The victory capped off a remarkable turnaround for Bangladesh after disappointing performances versus Pakistan, India and Japan, against whom they conceded a combined 17 goals and scored just one.
“It was a match for survival and despite going two goals down we never gave up and tried till the last minute. We believed that we can win the match. The whole team was determined to give their best and they did it,” said an elated Jimmy after the match.
“We have fulfilled our target to finish at least sixth by beating China. We said before that our main target was to perform better in the place-deciding matches rather than the group-stage matches and the boys really showed their mental toughness to beat China,” observed coach Mahbub Harun, adding that they would fight against Japan to grab the fifth place.
On Wednesday night, Bangladesh looked better in midfield compared to their previous matches and exchanged the ball nicely to create a few scoring chances but only to be denied by Chinese goalkeeper AO Zhiwel.
In the first five minutes Pushkor Khisa Mimo was denied by the woodwork before a fierce Jimmy shot was parried off by the Chinese goalkeeper AO Zhiwel.
China pressed heard after surviving the scare and Du Talake gave his team a 2-0 lead, converting penalty corners in the 16th and 17th minutes respectively.
Bangladesh pulled one goal back with Ashraful Islam sending the Chinese goalkeeper the wrong way from a penalty stroke in the 25th minute after Roman Sarkar was brought down by Meng Dihao. But, China again restored their two-goal lead with Du Talake converting another penalty corner in the 28th minute.
After the break, Bangladesh came out strongly with Jimmy playing the key role but Milon Hossain wasted two chances. However, he made up for those missed opportunities before converting from a penalty corner to make it 3-2 in the 53rd minute and Khorshadur Rahman converted another to level the margin in the 54th minute, sending the match to shootouts.