Dhaka: A last minute strike gave India a 5-4 victory in their final game against hosts Bangladesh and helped them lift the U-18 Men’s Asia Cup trophy here Friday. The visitors had lost by an identical margin in the opening encounter of the tournament.
In what was almost a replay of the opening game, the two teams treated the fans to a thrilling nine-goal encounter with India emerging triumphant in the end to be crowned the champions.
India started off well, but it was the hosts who took the lead after a counter-attack. They earned a penalty corner and after the initial save by Pankaj Kumar Rajak, Roman Sarkar pounced on the rebound to score.
India equalised quickly through Shivam Anand. The forward, dribbled past two opposition defenders and executed a perfect reverse flick which gave the Bangladesh custodian no chance.
Even though, India dominated possession, Bangladesh always looked dangerous on the counter. From one such move midway into the second quarter, Mohammad Mohsin deflected the ball into the Indian net to give the hosts the lead again.
After the break, India levelled the scores via Hardik Singh’s PC before Dilpreet Singh netted the ball to hand the visiting team a 3-2 lead. However, Bangladesh equalised with Mohammed Ashraful Islam scoring a goal in the 60th minute. India were ahead within two minutes as Ibungo Singh Konjengbam scored (4-3).
But there were still plenty of excitement left as Bangladesh fought back with Mahabub Hossain striking to level the scores at 4-4.
With the scores tied 4-4 and the threat of a shootout looming large, a quick counter saw Abhishek in the ‘D’ and his deflection into the net guided India to the title with just seconds to the hooter.
Man of the match: Hardik Singh
Best goalkeeper: Pankaj Kumar Rajak.
Press Trust of India
