Hosts Bangladesh kicked off their Saff Under-16 Championship campaign in imposing fashion, sweeping past Sri Lanka 4-0 inside a packed Sylhet District Stadium yesterday. A brace from Bangladesh's No 9, Sarwar Zaman Nipu, and strikes from Abedin Rakib and Mohammad Atiquzzaman were enough to guide the dominant home side to the semi-final, alongside the other team of the group, India.
The Bangladesh youngsters, clad in red, controlled the entire game. The defenders marshalled the back-line perfectly, the midfielders protected their area brilliantly and were successful more often than not in threading killer passes to the attackers while the clinical forwards put in an impressive shift and could have well and truly racked up a cricket score.
The Lankans, in the face of continuous onslaughts from the opposition, were mostly busy clearing their line.
The islanders, who shipped five goals in their opening match against the Indians, were unable to register a single shot on target.
Bangladesh head coach Syed Golam Jilani thanked the Sylhet crowd for their enthusiastic support and vowed to win the title for the country and its people.
Bangladesh squad
Faisal Ahmed, Shaon Hossain (C), Fahim Morshed, Mohammad Ridoy, Sarwar Zaman Nipu, Abedin Rakib, Mohammad Shaon, Saad Uddin, Mohammad Atiquzzaman, Jahangir Alam Sajib, Khalil Bhuiyan
