The Bangladesh Under-16 women’s football team made an unexpectedly bright start in the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 qualifiers with an incredible 1-0 victory over Jordan at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Unarguably one of the best players on the pitch, Sanjida Akhter netted the all-important goal in the second half from the penalty spot to give the hosts their best result in the women’s football arena in recent years. All credit goes to super substitute Lipi who earned the penalty.
The Bangladesh women (117), positioned 60 places below Jordan (57), in the Fifa women’s rankings made a mockery of the official standing in world football as the hosts displayed great spirit, began the game brightly and fought bravely till the final whistle.
Not only did they score and win, the young footballers of Bangladesh did not give space to their opponents and dominated the midfield throughout the entirety of the game. The scoreline, however, does not paint the true picture of the game as the home side could have scored more goals were it not for the missed chances scuffed by the inexperienced forward line.
The Jordanian players appeared a bit uneasy on the pitch and were unable to penetrate the Bangladesh defence, which, despite all its weaknesses and worries, put up a solid exhibition at the back. Bangladesh, on the other hand, also struggled inside the opposition’s terrain to find the net in the opening half.
The home side fared better after resumption. Bangladesh squandered a glorious opportunity to score the opener two minutes into the second half when Sanjida shot wide while being one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
The hosts piled up more pressure on their opponents but the tactical change which brought on Lipi in place of Krishna Rani in the 66th minute changed the fate of the game.
Lipi made an immediate impact after coming off the bench by earning Bangladesh a penalty three minutes later. The pacy forward ran through the goal skipping past a Jordan player before being brought down by a defender inside the penalty area.
Sanjida stepped up and converted from the spot sending the ball into the right side of Jordan custodian Naser Salem Albustanji.
The Bangladesh players broke into tears after the final whistle as it is their first ever victory in the U-16 level.
Meanwhile in the day’s other game, Iran captain Fatemeh Geraeli led her side from the front alongside striker Fatemeh Ghasemi as the duo slammed four goals apiece in their crushing 9-0 win over the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With a new team and fresh set of players, UAE, who are participating in an AFC competition for the very first time, could not resist the power and strength of Iran.
Ghasemi put her side ahead in the 37th minute with a superb solo effort. The Iranian forward showed great skill and technique on her first effort which thumped the woodwork. The rebound fell kindly onto her feet again as she dribbled past an opposition defender before sending the ball into an open net after rounding off the UAE keeper.
Ghasemi doubled the lead four minutes later. After fine work by Hajar Dabbaghi who broke into the left flank of the penalty area before sliding the ball for Ghasemi, the latter smashed home past the keeper from six yards.
It took Iran just five minutes into the second half to put another into UAE’s net. This time skipper Geraeli’s side volleyed into the near post following a corner. Geraeli scored again in the 52nd minute when the midfielder chipped over the keeper from the edge of the box and found the back of the net.
Iran continued the route as Ghasemi completed her hattrick two minutes later tapping home a rebound after skipping past the puzzled keeper.
Dabbaghi extended Iran’s lead to 6-0 with a solo effort in the 63rd minute pacing forward past two defenders before slotting home past Farhan Baashir. Geraeli netted the second hattrick of the day four minutes later sneaking the ball into the net from the centre of the box.
Geraeli and Ghasemi both scored their fourth goals of the day in the 82nd minute and injury time respectively to complete the 9-0 scoreline.