The Bangladesh girls created history yesterday when they emerged as the champions of the Asian Football Confederation’s Under-14 Regional Championship (south and central zone) after edging past hosts Nepal 1-0 in the grand finale.
Maria netted the all-important goal with a lovely effort in the 16th minute of the game to secure the first and only title for any Bangladesh girls and women’s side in the international arena.
The girls in red and green dominated the entire tie against a confident home side in chilly conditions at
Army Physical Fitness and Sports Centre in Lagankhel. And were it not for some misses by captain Krishna Rani, who failed to convert two one-on-one situations, the Bangladesh girls could have run away with the match.
Despite the historic victory, Bangladesh head coach Golam Rabbani Choton did not seem fully content with the result.
“I am happy to win the title but not satisfied with the result. We could have scored more. Krishna Rani alone missed four gilt-edged chances,” said Choton yesterday.
On the way to the title clash, Bangladesh defeated an impressive Iran outfit 2-0 in the semi-finals and earlier thumped Bhutan by a whopping margin of 16-0.
Ten players, including Maria, hail from Kolsindur, a remote village in Mymensingh in the outskirts of the Indian border. The Kolsindur girls caught the attention of the selectors and scouts last year when the Kolsindur Government Primary School clinched the title of the Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School Tournament.
The other eight footballers of the squad are from Satkhira, Tangail, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Rangamati.
The final was earlier scheduled to be held on April 25, the day a powerful 7.8-magnitude quake shook the hilly nation of Nepal, killing almost 8,900 people.
Seven teams, including India, Bhutan, Maldives, Iran and Sri Lanka, participated in the championship.