Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club dashed East Bengal’s hopes of reaching their third consecutive IFA Shield final as the Bangladeshi outfit beat the local giants 3-0 in the first semi-final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday. This is the second time a Bangladeshi club has reached the IFA Shield final. Dhaka Mohammedan lost the 1995 final to East Bengal.Captain Mamunul Islam and Haitian playmaker Sony Norde dedicated the semi-final victory to the Bangladeshi people and both said that they will now target a famous win in the final on Thursday at Salt Lake Stadium.
‘We are now thinking about the final and we hope we will return home with the Shield. By winning the Shield we want to make the 18 crore people of Bangladesh proud,’ said Mamunul after the game.
‘Not only me, full team played very well that’s why we reached the final. Sheikh Jamal DC are a Bangladeshi team so we are representing Bangladesh here. Now Bangladesh is in final which made me proud,’ said Norde.
After ousting another Indian giant Mohunbagan in their final group match, Jamal put on another stellar performance against last year’s runners-up East Bengal, who have won the IFA Shield a record 30 times.
Sheikh Jamal’s attacking trio of Nigerian Emeka Darlington and Haitians Sony Norde and Wedson Anselme sealed the comfortable victory with a goal apiece.
Jamal’s Nigerian coach Joseph Afusi implemented a 4-1-2-3 formation, which the Dhanmondi players executed properly on the field.
Unlike the match against Mohunbagan, when the opposition attackers broke Jamal’s defence on several occasions, on Tuesday Jamal’ defensive line held together nicely, giving no room to East Bengal’s attackers.
East Bengal’s James Moga and Chidi, could not create any notable opportunities throughout the match.
Jamal’s attackers, on the other hand, put pressure on the East Bengal defence from the beginning and they got their reward in the 23rd minute when Darlington put his team ahead with a brilliant header off an Anselme cross from the right flank.
After missing two golden scoring opportunities in the 27th and 35th minutes, Norde doubled the lead in the 37th minute, when the Haitian broke through the defence after a pinpoint pass from Anselme, dribbled past two defenders and took a shot from a tight angle shot to beat East Bengal’s keeper and find the inside of the far post.
Afusi shifted to a defensive strategy in the second half after taking a 2-0 lead, which gave some room to East Bengal to set up their attacks but thanks to the strong defence produced by Jamal, East Bengal players failed to create anything.
Sheikh Jamal then seized their opportunity to add to their lead in the 67th minute when Anselme beat three defenders on a break from the right and his right-footed striked beat the East Bengal keeper after a deflection off a defender.
Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin also praised Sheikh Jamal’s display in the last four clash.
‘I’m very happy to see one of our teams reaching the final of this prestigious tournament. I gave my special thanks to [Sheikh Jamal president] Monjur Kader, my friend, who tried hard to form a strong structure in this club and finally he is getting the return,’ said Salahuddin.
Sheikh Jamal will take on Kolkata Mohammedan Sporting Club in the final after the Indian side defeated United Sporting Club in the second semi-final on Tuesday.
-With New Age input
