With the final of the SAFF Women's Club Championship already set to be between East Bengal and APF, neither team wanted to lose on Wednesday's match.
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Perhaps this is how the script of such a match is written. East Bengal and APF Club had both already reached the final, so the two played out a goalless draw in the league match of the SAFF Women's Club Championship on Wednesday. The result left Indian champions East Bengal unbeaten with 10 points from four matches, topping the five-team standings.
APF also remained undefeated. The team with 8 points remained in second place. The only similarity between both teams was that neither conceded a single goal in the entire tournament.
With the top two spots certain, the final was certain between East Bengal and APF. ‘Neither team deserved to lose in today’s match,’ East Bengal coach Anthony Samson rightly said, ‘This match was exciting, our team played well. APF’s performance was also good. Some improvement is needed in our team before the final. Our team has not been fully tested, this is just preparation for the main test.’
He admitted that one point each was the most suitable result for both teams. Coach Samson added, ‘Dasarath Stadium is always special for us. The thrill of playing in front of the home fans is different. We always want to play well on this ground. I think our players played their best.’
East Bengal started well in the match at Dashrath Stadium and dominated the game. But the team could not take advantage of it. As the match progressed, APF tried to get back into the game. APF coach Jeevesh Pandey did not play Saru Limbu and Renuka Nagarkote from the beginning, both of them appeared on the field only in the second half. APF was probably the second best team in the match. The main reason for this was their weak attack. ‘Not only ours, but the problem of the Nepali women's national team right now is the lack of goals,’ admitted coach Pandey, ‘There are two days left before the final and we will focus on what needs to be improved in the team.’
‘The attack is what we focused on the most during practice,’ he said, ‘Today, our performance in the second half improved somewhat. It can be said that it was difficult for both teams throughout the match. I think our players also performed well, so I want to thank them.' He praised East Bengal, saying that the Indian champions are a good team in themselves. He also said that his team now expects to play in the final in the presence of as many fans as possible.
With this match, the league round 10 matches have ended. In the first match on Wednesday, Bhutan's Transport United and Bangladesh's Nasrin Sports Academy played out a 1-1 draw. Transport took the lead in the 38th minute through a goal by Pema Choden Tshering. For Nasrin, Souravhi Preeti equalized in the 87th minute. Transport finished third with 3 points. Then, Pakistan's Karachi City FC and Nasrin finished with 2 points each. Nasrin finished last on goal difference.
Although Transport was expected to perform well, that was not possible. Coach Yesi Wangchuk expressed disappointment in this. He said, 'The competition was not as expected for us. But we have learnt a lot.’ Although the Bangladeshi team finished last, Nasrin coach Monir Hossain expressed satisfaction with their performance, as most of them were from his age group. Karachi’s performance was also disappointing. The team failed to score any goals.
