Bashundhara Kings storm into final
Bashundhara Kings reached the final of the ongoing Federation Cup Football Tournament pulling down high flying Bangladesh Police Football Club by 3-0 goals in the second semifinal match at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital on Friday.
Kings will now play the final on Sunday at 04:00 pm against Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society who reached the final for the first time upsetting ten-time Fed Cup Champions Dhaka Mohammedan by 1-0 goal on Thursday’s first semifinal at the same venue.
In the day’s match, defender Topu Barman, Costa Rican forward Daniel Colindres Solera and Argentine defender Nicolas Delmonte scored a goal each to claim the win for Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions.
Ahead of the game, Kings included Tajik defender Akhtam Nazarov in the place of Lebanese forward Mohamad Jalal Kdouh while Police made two changes -- Naimur Rahman Shahed was included in the place of Arif Khan Joy and Mohammad Al-Amin was included in the place of Mohammad Swadin.
Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) Champions Police FC, who appeared in the Fed Cup semifinal for the first time, tried to put pressure on their mighty opponent Kings from the very beginning. They created several close chances but all of their efforts went in vain.
In the 2nd minute, defender Md Isa Faysal missed the target from inside the box and Kings’ goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico smartly denied a direct free-kick from Bulgarian midfielder Laskov Antonio in the 10th minute.
Just two minutes later, BPL champions got a chance to open their account as captain Daniel Colindres sent the ball in with a brilliant half volley kick from the danger zone. But the assistant referee rejected the goal signaling offside.
Kings finally got the breakthrough in the 16th minute while Police FC defender Khan Md Tara illegally tackled Colindres inside the box. Defender Topu made no mistake to convert the goal successfully (1-0).
After the half-time, Kings put more pressure on Police FC with attacking football. In the 47th minute, Tajik defender Akhtam Nazarov missed a close chance. But, Colindres filled in netting his first and team’s second goal with a right-footer angular drive in the 50th minute (2-0).
Kings got some more chances to widen the margin in the second half. But their two key midfielders Mohammad Ibrahim and Baktyir Duishobekov could not utilise the chances.
In the 87th minute, Ibrahim netted the ball with a tap-in shot from goalmouth melee utilising a pass from Colindres, but the referee again upset the Kings’ fans signaling the off-side.
Just a few seconds before the final whistle, Argentine defender Delmonte buried ball into the Police FC net with a right-footer close range shot in the stoppage time (90+2 minutes) (3-0).
Police’s defender Khan Md Tara, forward M S Bablu, Kyrgyz defender Artur Muladzhanov and Kings’ defender Yeasin Khan got yellow cards.
Kings made one replacement in the game as forward Tawhidul Alam Sabuz replaced Motin Mia while Bangladesh Police Football Club made three changes as forward Md Shadin replaced Nazmul Islam Rasel, forward Josseph Mur Rahman replaced Montenegrin forward Luka Rotkovic and forward Md Amirul Islam replaced defender Md Isa Faysal.
In the post-match reaction, Bashundhara Kings Head Coach Oscar Willian Bruzon said, “All of them (Booters) played very well. In the last game, we were switched off after playing for 70 minutes. But this time, we continued and tried to score goals.”
Appreciating the team’s overall performances, Oscar Bruzon said, “Topu and Yeasin gave their best. But Colindres is the real hero, he embodies our team’s attitude and he is the player who made all the difference.”
“The fixture is so tight. We don’t have enough time to take proper rest and preparation for the final,” added Oscar.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Police Head Coach Nikola Vitorovic said, “We have failed to come back in the match after conceding the first goal. The second goal was unexpected for us.”
