Bangladesh women’s football team made a slice of history as they won the Saff Championship for the first time after beating hosts Nepal 3-1 in Monday’s grand finale at Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu.
Krishna Rani Sarkar stole the show with a brace while Shamsunnahar Jr netted once for the women in red and green who erased the bitter memories of their only ever Saff final appearance in 2016 against India.
Unbeaten champions Bangladesh conceded only once in the tournament – Nepal’s consolation goal netted by Anita Basnet – and scored 23 goals.
Moments after coming on as a substitute for the injured Sirat Jahan Shopna in the 10th minute, Shamsunnahar Jr gave Bangladesh the lead in the 13th minute.
Monika Chakma was the provider as she skipped past a Nepal player before unleashing a cross from the right flank and Shamsunnahar Jr made no mistake finding the back of the net with her right foot.
The way she finished epitomized why head coach Golam Rabbani Choton deployed her as No 9.
Choton changed the strategy after the goal as his charges went to three-woman defence from initial 4-4-2 and Shamsunnahar Jr remained pivotal as striker.
Despite pressure from the hosts in the rain drenched heavy field, where it was difficult to drive the ball forward, Krishna Rani doubled the lead in the 42nd minute with a fine left-footed finish in a one on one situation against the opposition goalkeeper after being set up by captain Sabina Khatun.
And although Nepal pulled one back in the 70th minute, Bangladesh had the last laugh as Krishna Rani grabbed her second in the 77th minute to seal victory.
Bangladesh for the first time in the tournament faced staunch resistance from the opponents.
In the group stage they beat the Maldives 3-0 before thrashing Pakistan 6-0.
However, their confidence to finally win the tournament came in their vital group match where they beat mighty India 3-0.
Bangladesh women showed they were far superior in terms of speed and quality and most importantly gave it all to win against the much higher-ranked opponents.
India, the winner of all five prior editions of the Saff Championship, lost for the first time in the tournament’s history and had to face Nepal in the semi-final.
Nepal, who beat Bhutan 4-0 and Sri Lanka 6-0 in the group stage, were inspired with the result and the Indians were once again beaten as the girls from Himalayan country overcame their neighbors in the semi-final by a solitary goal.
Bangladesh on the other hand defeated Bhutan convincingly 8-0 to ensure a final berth between the two best sides.
Nepal, to their credit, had moments of domination in the final but were tactically outplayed by their opponents, who seemed lot keener to win, in spite of huge support from the crowd for the home team.
Bangladesh: Rupna Chakma, Sheuli Azim, Shamsunnahar, Mosammat Akhi Khatun, Masura Parvin, Monika Chakma, Sanjida Akter (Rituporna Chakma 57'), Maria Manda, Krishna Rani Sarkar, Mosammat Sirat Jahan Shopna (Shamsunnahar Jr 10’), Sabina Khatun