Muktijoddha coach Shafiqul Islam Manik termed the win over Team BJMC in the second semi-final of the Walton Federation Cup as the victory of the truth.
Manik said the decision of the penalty against them during the game was pre-decided. “Firstly I will say that it was not a penalty, the BJMC forward can’t touch my goalies body. It was a foul in our favour, but instead the referee awarded a penalty to them. I think it was pre-decided because within one minute two decisions went against us. The off-side against us in the previous minute was not an off-side as per the new rule” said Manik during the post-match conference at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
However, Manik was relieved to see that his team reached a major final after 2005 and said, “We took the field for a win, that was our motivation and we proved that with our fighting spirit. The conditions were tough and the win will boost us for a tough final against Sheikh Jamal, definitely a powerful side.”
Russell Mahmud Liton, who came on as a substitute goalkeeper in place of experienced Aminul said, “I was not nervous when the match went to tie-breakers. I played a couple of tough matches for the national U-19 team and went through the same situation.
“As the second choice goalkeeper I always have the feelings that I have to topple Aminul bhai whenever I get a chance,” said Liton who is also the elder brother of national defender Mamun Khan.
BJMC coach Ali Asgar Nasir said his team did not play to the expected level. “The way we played in the quarters was not present in the semis. The foreign players of Muktijoddha played better than my foreign players. However, I also have to say they did not practice with the team for a long time,” said Nasir who also thought that the referee was the best person to adjudge the penalty.
Meanwhile, Ismael Bangoura reflected his thoughts on the penalty shout and said, “As per the rules I don’t want to touch the goalkeepers body, but I tried my best as we were trailing by a goal. I don’t know whether I committed an offense as it happened in a fraction of a second.”
