A young, spirited and clinical Bangladesh side clinched their first ever Saff Under-16 Championship title, beating reigning champions India 4-2 in a breathtaking penalty shootout in the final at a jam-packed Sylhet District Stadium yesterday.
After the stipulated time ended 1-1 in a game largely dominated by the home side, the fearless Tigers were composed and calm-headed in the tie-breaker, leaving the holders to rue what might have been.
An early second-half goal by Bangladesh midfielder Fahim Morshed was cancelled out later by a screamer from Amay Avinash Morajkar. And the way Fahim, Jahangir Alam Sajeeb, Atiquzzaman and Saad Uddin converted their penalties from the spot, one could hardly guess that they are an U-16 side. The junior Tigers exhibited a glimpse of maturity and announced themselves as the next big stars of Bangladesh football. Bangladesh goalkeeper Faysal Ahmed also deserves credit for saving India’s fourth penalty, taken by Saqlain, after Abhijit hit the bar in the previous effort.
The galleries were more than elated with the triumph as there were not a single seat available inside the stadium. Not only that, each and every single building surrounding the venue were swarming with enthusiastic fans. Even a water tank, around 100m from the venue, was filled with people who were flying the red and green flag with a lot of pride.
Bangladesh began the game with a bit of tiredness and it was apparent from their body language as they struggled for the first quarter of the final. This was due to the effect of playing three matches inside the space of six days.
However, the home side seemed to have charged up following their first attack in the 22nd minute when Fahim set up Mohammad Shawon with a fine pass from the left side of the box. Shawon’s header though flew inches over the bar.
In the second half, the home side took only a minute to take a deserved lead. Shawon initiated the attack with a cross from the right flank, Mostajeb received the ball in the middle of the box and passed it back to Fahim whose left-footer rolled straight into the back of the net.
Bangladesh custodian Faysal Ahmed produced a lovely save to deny Indian midfielder Abhijit Sarkar’s shot from inside the box in the 55th minute.
India equalised the margin in the 63rd minute from a stunning strike by midfielder Avinash whose powerful strike from just outside the box hit the woodwork before entering the net. Faysal had nothing to do with the goal due to his height.
Fahim squandered a great opportunity to give the hosts the lead in the 79th minute when the midfielder received a missed clearance from an Indian defender but failed to find the target despite an empty net.
India’s intention was clear in the last quarter of the game as they wanted to take the tie into the tiebreaker, going fully defensive. Bangladesh had a couple of chances but nothing concrete. Just a minute before the final whistle, the encounter was stopped for 12 minutes due to blackout.
And when the game did resume, no one could stop the Bangladesh youngsters from sealing their maiden success in the third edition of the age-level competition.
