After the third day of the tournament, it has been decided that India and Nepal will face off for the championship title.
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As was initially planned, East Bengal and APF would play in the final of the Women's SAFF Club Championship. In the end, that is what happened. After the third day of the tournament on Sunday, it has been decided that India and Nepal will face each other for the championship title.
Before that, these two teams will face each other in the last match of the league stage and the result will also decide who will be ahead of the five teams. For now, East Bengal is ahead, with nine points from three matches. APF is second with seven points. The remaining three teams will not be able to overtake them now.
With these results, the challenge of Pakistan's Karachi City FC, Bhutan's Transport United and Nasrin Sports Academy in the five-team competition has ended. One question remains to be answered before the final. Who is the better of the two for now? The answer has been given by Bangladesh's Nasrin coach Monir Hossain and that is, East Bengal.
Both are undefeated, both teams have not conceded any goals. But East Bengal has not only played well in three matches, but has scored 13 goals. There, APF has scored only five goals and there is a lot to be found fault with its performance.
In the first match on Sunday, APF defeated Pakistan's Karachi 1-0. Rashmikumari Ghising scored the only goal in the 52nd minute. There was a lack of coordination among APF players throughout the game. APF also failed to mount a decisive attack.
‘We came to this game for three points, and we got them,’ said APF coach Jeevesh Pandey. But he could not be proud of his team’s performance. He also admitted that most of the players who have achieved good results in Nepali domestic football are in APF, but their performance has not been up to par. The only good news for APF is that injured defender Geeta Rana is back on the field. She entered the field as a substitute in the 38th minute.
In the next game, East Bengal defeated Nasreen 7-0. ‘A win is a win, so we are happy,’ said East Bengal coach Anthony Samson after the game, ‘We want the team to maintain this rhythm.’ Fazila Ekwapout scored four goals for them. She scored in the 7th, 27th, 45th, 74th and 90th minutes. Similarly, Jyoti Chauhan scored a goal in the first minute of injury time of the first half and Sulanjana Raul scored a goal each in the 73rd minute.
He added, "Now we will face APF before the final. We know what kind of team this is because many of its players have played in India. Our aim when facing this team in the last match of the league stage will be to know their weaknesses." Now, in the match on Wednesday, Transport will play against Nasreen and East Bengal will play against APF. The final will be held on Saturday.
