Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif relished the moment of moving into the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup while skipper Mamunul Islam thanked the countrymen for the outstanding support before vowing to put their best again in the final against Malaysia Under-23, slated for tomorrow at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The coach and the skipper were in an ecstatic mood after the final whistle, hugging each other and celebrating but both tried to contain their emotion and appeared normal in the post-match press conference. “We are professionals and we have to deal with the pressure. Yes, for the moment I can say we are relieved as Bangladesh played good football for the 90 minutes. The first half was a splendid one as it was the perfect display of what we had planned and trained,” said the 45-year old Dutch coach.
“I told the players that Thailand are trailing and they will be a different one in the second [half]. They piled up pressure and the team looked a little shaky but in the dying stage Bangladesh were in good shape again. Overall, it was a good day” he added.
The Dutchman looked a bit worried while talking about the preparation of the final. “We have just one day and it’s hard to prepare the team physically and mentally within that period. However, I think Thailand were better than Malaysia and we have won against them (Thailand),” said De Kruif.
Regarding Nasir Uddin Chowdhury’s match-winning goal, De Kruif said, “We trained a lot with set pieces and it is the result of the hard work.”
Mamunul also thanked the strong weekend crowd for the fantastic support. “I thank all the countrymen, the spectators and my federation president for keeping their faith upon us. We want to win the final also. It was a superb feeling to take the field in front of the packed crowd. We have improved match by match, I think. In our third match of the tournament today, we have produced a good show committing less mistakes. However, we still have to improve and win the final,” said the 23-year old playmaker.
Man-of-the-match Zahid Hossain on the other hand said his best is yet to come. “I do not think my best has been displayed. I want to win the title for the country and then I can say it is my best display.”