Bangladesh under-14 football team on Saturday clinched a memorable 2-0 win over English side Manchester City U-14 in the plate semi-final of the ongoing Super Mokh Cup at Panasonic National Sports Complex in Malaysia.
The boys in red and green will now face Japanese outfit Shonan Bellmare in the final on Sunday at MSN Field, Bukit Jalil.
Captain Fahim Murshed, who missed an open goal early in the game, gave Bangladesh the lead in the 11th minute before grabbing his second in the 34th minute.
Miraz Molla got a golden opportunity to further extend the lead but he too missed an open goal like central midfielder Fahim.
Goalkeeper Emon Hawlader kept the City side at bay, producing a number of brilliant saves throughout the tie.
Bangladesh went into the first-half interval with a 2-0 lead and started dominating their opponent after resumption. The young Citizens hardly got out of their own half in the face of some relentless attacks by the Bangladesh midfielders. The English side got two good chances later in the game but were foiled by the Bangladesh defence.
The young Citizens hardly got out of their own half in the face of some relentless attacks by the Bangladesh midfielders
COURTESYBangladesh got a few chances of their own but were unable to add to the scoreline. They got four corners while Man City got three corners and a free kick.
Fahim, Ridoy, Emon and Sanwar Hossain shone brightly and will be confident of their chances in the plate final.
Following the game, Bangladesh head coach Parvez was quoted as saying by the official website of the Bangladesh Football Federation, “Although the England U-14 team (Man City) are excellent and have a lot of quality players, Bangladesh played great football. At this point, our only goal is to be the plate champion. Each of our players are fit and mentally strong. Our boys are ready to put up a good fight and clinch the title.”
Earlier in the tournament, Bangladesh lost to hosts Malaysia 1-0 before beating Indonesia 3-2.
In the other plate semi, Bellmare beat Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale. Bangladesh had lost to Frontale 2-1 in the group stage.
Last year, Bangladesh U-12 had claimed the plate round of the Super Mokh Cup by crushing Malaysian side CIMB-YFA 3-0 in the final at May Bank Academy field in Kuala Lumpur. On their way to the title, they defeated Brazilian club Corinthians and Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.
RESULTBangladesh U14 2 (Fahim Murshed 11, 34)
0 Manchester City U14