The black and whites brought to an end their four year title drought by lifting the Super Cup, which coincidentally was also the last trophy they won. Things have changed in the four year period; last time, Mohammedan had started the tournament as one of the favourites whereas this year, they were underdogs.
It was total team effort that won them the cup, with different player rising to the occasion at different times to ultimately give Mohammedan a happy ending to the season. Right-winger Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan, striker Wahed Ahmed and goalkeeper Mamun Khan are three players who played particularly crucial roles.
Mobarak was impressive throughout the tournament and was rewarded with both the “Best Emerging Player and “Most Valuable Player” of the tournament awards. He was however, not at his best in the final, but his shaky display was made up for by Wahed and Mamun Khan, who had a solid outing.
Mamun Khan was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch Tuesday, despite conceding his first goal in the meet. The young goalie’s height, impulse and game reading saved Mohammedan on many occasions and at the end, Mamun produced two brilliant saves in the penalty shootout to win the first title of his career.
“It’s my first silverware in my career so that I’m so much happy. When the match turned into tiebreaker, I was confident that I could save one or two and I did it to give Mohammedan a trophy after four years,” said Mamun, who said that they had special practice session for the penalty shootout.
The joy for juvenile striker Wahed Ahmed had a bitter end after he received a red card at the end of the stipulated time. Wahed was joint highest scorer in the meet with three goals - including one yesterday and one in the semi-final. He seemed to be the happiest man of all when lifting the title.
“It was a great feeling for me. I can’t explain how happy I am now. My target was to score as many as I can and become top scorer. I scored three goals but in the last time in the match I failed to control my tamper and got the red card,” said the striker.
After winning two awards, Mobarak praised his midfielders for their supports. “I’m very happy. Credits to our midfielders especially Maruf, Sohag and Manik. If they had not provided their supports from the midfield, I could not able to perform like that.
“I request to reduce the quota of the foreign players from the league. If the foreigners played in the meet, players like Wahed wouldn’t have chance to show their talent.
“I could not perform well in the final like I did in the past. But I’m not upset, the most important thing is that Mohammedan became the champions,” said the jubilant striker.
Mohammedan coach Saidur Bari Titu was full of praise for his players. “As I said before, nobody had predicted we would be champions because there were no foreign players. But the thing, is we made it and I will give all credits to the players - there were motivated at the right time. They tried to do their work, which is the most important thing. I’m very happy that Mohammedan has won a trophy after long time.
“I believe the best motivation was the ineligibility of the foreign players in the tournament. Players, those who didn’t get chance to play always said, ‘how could we play when there are too many foreign players?’ Without the foreign players, it was a stage for these players to prove themselves.”
Tournament Highlight:
Top scorer:
Jahid Hasan Emily (Russell)- 3
Wahed Ahmed (Mohammedan)- 3
Jewel Rana (Brothers)- 3
Most valuable player:
Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan (MSC)
Best Goalkeeper:
Mamun Khan (MSC)
Best emerging player
Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan (MSC)
Best goal:
Mobarak against Muktijoddha in the second semifinal
Rising star:
Jewel Rana (Brothers)
Best coach
Saiful Bari Titu (MSC)
Fair play award
Brothers Union