Hosts suffer heavy defeat

AFC U-19 Women’s Football Championship
Hosts suffer heavy defeat
Hosts Bangladesh and neighbours India made disastrous start in the AFC U-19 Women’s Football Championship when they were thrashed by their middle-eastern counterparts at the Birshreshtha Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday. Bangladesh were humiliated by Jordan with a 1-6 drubbing, thanks to a hattrick from Shahnaz Yaseen after India were outplayed by Iran 2-4, courtesy of a Farhadhikhah Parvin hattrick.
It looked like a fairy tale start for Bangladesh when Sabina Khatun gave her side a surprise lead in the ninth minute of the match under floodlights. But since then it all went downhill for the hosts as the physically more powerful Jordanians stamped their authority as the game went on.
Jordan captain Ayah Faisal equalised from a spot kick in the 35th before Shahnaz Yaseen made it 2-1 with a grounder in the 38th minute.
Shahnaz increased the margin in the 65th minute before striker Shatha Wahbi made it 4-1 in the 75th and Maysam Muhseen struck the fifth in the 88th minute.
Shahnaz, playing in the right wing, completed her treble and rout in the stoppage time.
Earlier in the day, the qualifiers kicked off with the game between India and Iran. More than the game itself, the spectators eager to watch how the girls from an Islamic Republic clad under hijab would fare.
And they were amused to find the girls who had been playing the game for no more than four years show sublime skills mixed with their towering physical presence to dominate their south Asian counterparts.
The Iranians came within a whisker of an opener in the fourth minute of the game when midfielder Tanin Naraghi entered the Indian danger zone from the right and unleashed a fierce drive that the Indian goalkeeper Sita Sharma thwarted out for a throw-in.
Naraghi, however, kept the Indian defenders busy releasing one cross after another from the right wing before being ruled out through an injury at a latter stage of the game.
Maryam Rahimi, nucleus of the Iranian midfield, along with captain Zahra Ghanbari, Naraghi and Ghashieh Samaneh led Iran to enjoy superior ball possession that eventually helped them take the lead in the 17th minute through Farhadhikah Parvin. Parvin, availing a long-ball from the midfield, danced past defender Bijaya to fire home from inside the box to take Iran to a 1-0 lead.
India almost hit back the following minute when Bindyarani got one on one with the Iranian goalkeeper Maryam Yektaei yet fired straight at the goalkeeper to spoil an easy chance. She got in on the act though eight minutes later when flicking a corner from Rojina Khatun for the equaliser.
Four minutes later, Iran took the lead again when Naraghi whipped a vicious cross from the right for Samaneh who square-passed it to Farhadikhah and the midfielder found the back of the net with a grounder from inside the box.
After resumption, Indian girls looked more organised and snatched the equaliser in the 52nd minute through a placing shot taken by Rina, who cleverly placed the ball to the right-hand net of the advancing Iranian goalkeeper.
But, despite being taking the upper hand through the equalizer, India failed to keep momentum against the fitter and technically superior Iranians. The middle eastern girls scored a third when substitute Shadi Bahrami coolly chipped one over the keeper from outside the box on the hour mark before Farhadikhah completed her treble in the 70th minute and earned a convincing win in their opening outing.

Courtesy of The Daily Star