BAN 2-0 UAE: Bengal girls dominate UAE in Bangamata opener

Dhaka: Bangladesh U19 women’s national team toyed with United Arab Emirates (UAE) to pick up an easy 2-0 victory in the opening match of the first ever Bangamata U19 Women’s International Gold Cup 2019 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka on Monday. In the first Group B match, the Red and Greens went at their middle-eastern opponents right from the ward go. The UAE players were suffering on every front; especially the speed of the Bengal girls combined with experience was proving too much to handle for the Emiratis. The humid conditions of Dhaka did not help them too much either. With the Emiratis struggling to keep up with Bangladesh, it was not a question of if but when Bangladesh would get ahead. The Bangladesh fans were not disappointed; they only had to wait for 12 minutes to see their side go ahead with a brilliant goal. Towering defender Akhi Khatun lobbed an immaculate through ball for striker Sirat Jahan Shopna who timed her run perfectly to break the offside trap and then slid the ball under the UAE goalkeeper and into the net to make it 1-0 for Bangladesh in the 12th minute. Shopna kept on creating problems for UAE as she displayed what it means to be a perfect poacher playing off the shoulder of the last defender. Bangladesh continued to create more opportunities but either below-par finishing or the final ball was letting the team down. But Bangladesh continued to get rewarded with corners for their non-stop attacking. The Red and Greens finally made their ninth corner of the match count. Midfielder Monika Chakma floated a brilliant left footer in the 30th minute which was beautifully flicked by forward Krishna Rani Sarker before being headed in by skipper Misrat Jahan Mousumi. However, the referees decided that the ball had crossed the line before Mousumi touched the ball and so the goal was awarded to prolific national team forward Krishna Rani. After the final whistle, goalscorer Krishna Rani Sarker was adjudged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match and was awarded a cheque of USD 500. Monika and Maria marshalled the midfield throughout the match and kept Bangladesh in total control of the game. A 72 percent possession ratio compared to UAE’s 28 just goes to show Bangladesh’s dominance. Bangladesh earned 20 corners in the game compared to UAE’s 0. And with 33 shots, 22 of which were on target, one can easily imagine what the scoreline could have been had the finishing been a little better. The win puts Bangladesh well on course for the semi-final. Just a draw in the second game against Kyrgyzstan on April 26 would confirm Bangladesh’s ticket for the semis. On the other hand, UAE would look to bounce back and pick-up victory against Kyrgyzstan on April 24 to keep their hopes of making it to the semis alive.
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