The two finalists of the Boys Under-14 competition at the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament have been decided as it will be Bangladesh’s Krida Siksha Protisthan (BKSP) who will face off a strong Chandigarh’s Government Model School in the final on 29th September, 2016 at the Dr. Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.
Bangladesh did not have a great start to the tournament as they were kept quiet by the Goa team in their opening encounter, with the game finishing 0-0. However, the boys from the neighbouring nation started dominating the opponents from the second game onwards as they beat Sikkim 4-0 and then overpowered West Bengal in the third game with a scoreline of 3-2. It was the fourth game where the Bangladeshi attack finally stretched their leg as they beat TAFS 8-0 in their last game of Pool B.
Three wins and a draw saw the boys from Krida Siksha Protisthan qualify for the quarter-finals where they beat a resilient Manipur side by a solitary goal to enter the semi-finals of the tournament. In the match against Afghanistan today, Bangladesh seemed to have lifted their game, as they worked according to a plan to outclass the Afghan team.
Bangladesh’s coach, Hasan al Masud, said, “We had watched the Afghanistan team in previous matches and had made a proper plan to defeat them. We wanted to play on the counter, and I feel my team executed their strategies very well on the pitch.” He also added that Afghanistan were the strongest team of the tournament and he is happy that his team has defeated them.
“It was a very tough match against the best team of the tournament. We had worked hard on our game in the training sessions which turned out to be very fruitful in the end. We had also practised the penalty shootouts in the days leading to the game,” Masud said.
The coach also added that his team’s goal has been fulfilled but he will be aiming for glory in the final. “Before coming for the tournament, we had set a goal for ourselves that we wanted to make it to the final match of the Subroto Cup. We have been able to reach that goal. Now, we have a great chance in the final against Chandigarh and we will try to win the final,” he said.
Chandigarh come into the final with a 100% record
However, on the other hand, Chandigarh’s Government Model School has maintained it’s 100% record in the tournament as they have won all their matches on the way to the finals. The team from Punjab started the competition with a convincing 3-0 win over Kolkata’s SAI team. They carried on their form to thrash a Daman and Diu side by a scoreline of 18-0, which was the second biggest margin of win at the tournament.
The team were in a commanding position after two games, and their last group game was against Gujarat whom they beat 7-0 to secure a berth in the quarterfinals of the Subroto Cup. In the quarterfinal match against Mizoram, Chandigarh came out on top as they defeated the opposition 4-2 to qualify for the semi-finals. Today’s semi-final against the NCC side was a tough game for Chandigarh as they could not score, but ended up winning the tie on penalties.
Chandigarh’s coach, Hajender Singh, told Sportskeeda, that his side is capable of playing against much stronger oppositions. He said, “I am sad about the standard of football I have seen at the tournament because our side is capable of defeating much stronger teams. The players started coaching under me two years ago at the age of 10, and this was the first ever tournament for them.”
He also said that the tournament has been a great platform for the players, however, he also mentioned that he is upset about the players from other teams being over-age. Singh said, “I have talked about this issue previously as well. It is an Under-14 tournament, so there should only be players under the age of 14. I can say that there are players in other teams who are over the age limit.”
“I just feel that the young players get demoralised when they lose to older players at a tournament like this. It even results in the players quitting the sport after they return from the tournaments. I would like the authorities to take note of this fact, as it affects India’s future in football as well,” said Singh, who runs a football academy in Chandigarh. He also seemed confident of winning the final against Bangladesh. Singh said, “We have a great young team with the players having an age of 12-13 years, and they have much more calibre to perform. We will win the final by defeating Bangladesh.”
