Shamim Islam netted the 85th-minute winner after Rajshahi’s Ahad cancelled out Apan Chandra Roy’s opener in the second half
Rangpur emerged as the champion of the inaugural Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman National U-17 Gold Cup Football Tournament after beating Rajshahi 2-1 with an extra-time winner in the final at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka Sunday.
The final was played for 80 minutes, but eventually it turned out to be a 90-minute encounter with the added time of 10 minutes after the stipulated time ended 1-1.
Shamim Islam netted the 85th-minute winner after Rajshahi’s Ahad cancelled out Apan Chandra Roy’s opener in the second half.
Lack of organisation and a shaky response from set-pieces were evident at the beginning but with the game rolling forward, Rangpur looked more organised during the attacks and kept more possession, along with exhibiting some individual skills up front.
Apan put Rangpur ahead with only three minutes into the second half, slotting home from the top of the box after receiving a short pass from Mahim Ahmed.
Ahad punished Rangpur keeper Naim Parvez for his poor clearance with a looping header that brought parity in the 57th minute.
Shamim scored the winner in the fifth minute of extra-time, heading home an Omar Faruk Mithu corner.
Naim, also captain, rectified his previous blunder by producing a couple of brilliant saves in the dying moments to maintain the lead till the final whistle.
A total of 88,506 players from 4,917 teams participated in the initial stage of the tournament from where Shamim was adjudged the best player of the tournament, scoring the highest goals – four in three matches – in the national round involving eight divisions.
Apan became the player of the final while Dipok Roy became the best player of the semi-finals.
President Abdul Hamid graced the occasion as the chief guest, accompanied by his wife Rashida Hamid, and distributed the prizes among the winners.
BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Arif Khan Joy, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mohammad Abdullah were also present.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
