Bangladesh women clinch maiden title

After 10 long years of hopeless drought, Bangladesh Women’s national team clinched their first title beating hosts Nepal 3-1 in the SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday.

A brace from striker Srimoti Krishnarani Sarker in each half, and a marvellous finish in the first 45 by substitute Shamsunnahar Jr was enough to get the women in red and green over the line.

The stage was set for a flying Bangladesh, who made it to their first final in six years in blissful fashion, to emerge as the new champions of the competition, and they did not disappoint.

With the commitment to bringing a wind of change in playing styles, the players promised to change the dynamics of Women’s football in Bangladesh, and they well and truly managed to put substance behind their words with the country’s first SAFF title since 2003, when the Men’s team triumphed.

Facing the hosts in their den, the Bangladeshi women showed no jitters about playing in a final. Straight from the outset, they were only thinking about getting the job done.

In the very first minute, midfielder Maria Manda let loose from 30 yards to force a save from Nepal goalkeeper Anjila Subba. The goalie failed to gather, which opened a scoring opportunity for Sirat Jahan Shopna, whose shot was saved.

Seven minutes later, Shopna, who was carrying a niggle from the semi-final had to be taken off, and it seemed Bangladesh were thinned out in attack for losing the striker, who had already netted four goals in the ongoing edition. But head coach Golam Rabbani Choton would have to thank his lucky stars as the substitute he brought on, striker Shamsunnahar Jr, found the net in the 13th minute.

Nepal, like Bangladesh, were yet to concede a single goal in the competition, and it was evident that it would take something special to breach their defence.

Midfielder Monika Chakma produced a moment of brilliance to move past the right-back as she managed to get a cross in. It was met by Shamsunnahar, whose right-footed guile guided the ball to the far corner as Bangladesh went 1-0 up, stunning the packed stadium in dumb silence.

Despite getting the early lead, Bangladesh had to endure a shift in momentum as Nepal came back strongly after conceding. A nervy 33 minutes followed as the Bangladeshi centre-backs had to tackle numerous Nepali offensives.

However, against the run of play, the women in red and green managed to silence the crowd yet again. A poaching Shamsunnaar caught the defender lingering on the ball, and the ball kindly fell to skipper Sabina Khatun, who rolled it behind to set Krishna free. The striker, eyeing her third goal of the tournament, made no mistake as she unleashed her left foot to drive it on the roof of the net to take Bangladesh into half-time leading by 2-0.

After the break, Nepal took the initiative to get back into the contest. They threw most of their attacking options from the bench in search of an opening. They pinned Bangladesh back and were almost rewarded for their vigilance when Rashmi Kumari found herself free in the box, but the striker headed it wide from 10 yards.

The host, however, managed to reduce the deficit in the 70th minute following a sustained period of dangerous possession. Anita finished a well-worked attack as she drilled one from 20 yards to beat Bangladesh goalkeeper Rupna Chakma for the very first time in the competition.

Bangladesh, though, managed to keep their foot on the gas and found their third goal. They caught Nepal on the counteras Monika threaded a beautiful through ball to Srimoti, who provided a fitting finish to knock the wind out of Nepal’s sails.

Sabina, who’s played in every SAFF championship for Bangladesh since its inception in 2010, topped the scoring charts with eight goals, including two hat-tricks, while Srimoti and Shopna finished the tournament with four goals each.