The SAFF Women's Club Championship football had a winner on Saturday in East Bengal, who can be called the 'true champion'. East Bengal remained undefeated throughout the entire tournament.

Not only that, the Indian team did not concede a single goal in 5 matches. In the final, East Bengal's victory over APF Club was also unanimous. When Nepal came to the tournament, coach Anthony Samson had said, 'East Bengal did not come to Kathmandu just to visit, but to win.' 

East Bengal, the Indian champions, honestly kept that promise. This is the third tournament that East Bengal has won this year. What makes it special is that this is the first international tournament that the team has won. Therefore, coach Samson said, 'This title will have a special meaning not only for East Bengal, but also for the entire Indian women's football. This success will inspire many girls to enter football. Therefore, we will be happy and proud of our current journey.'

Not only the final, but the entire tournament was disappointing for APF. APF's attack in particular was weak. APF coach Jeevesh Pandey said, 'None of us are satisfied with our performance in the tournament. We could not perform as expected in the final. We were weak in almost every area. It would be wrong to say that only one person made a mistake in this. But for us, the tournament was a good experience. The players also got good exposure. We gained good experience on how to build a team for the upcoming tournaments.’ 

Fazila decisive

Ugandan player Fazila Ekwueput proved to be decisive in the smooth journey that East Bengal has set in the tournament. She was declared the best player of the tournament and no one will doubt it. Ekwueput, who has the experience of scoring for Kazakhstan’s Shymkent against Barcelona in the European Women’s Champions League, presented her attractive control over the ball and speed. East Bengal took the field under her leadership. In that sense, she was complete in the tournament. 

She also scored two goals in the final. The first goal was possible in the 22nd minute. Her shot was ‘defective’ from the foot of APF’s Geeta Rana and converted into a goal. At that time, there was a clear lack of coordination between Geeta and goalkeeper Anjana Rana Magar. Immediately after the goal, both were seen blaming each other on the field. Silki Devi added a second goal with a header in the 35th minute. In that situation, she was completely 'unmarked' in the APF penalty area and got the opportunity for a 'free header'. 

Equaput added a second goal in the 46th minute. This goal, which was possible as soon as the second half started, had every chance of being saved by APF goalkeeper Anjana, but the ball slipped out of her control and turned into a goal. Otherwise, Equaput's shot did not have much momentum. This was her ninth individual goal in the tournament. She was also the top scorer. 'All three goals in the final were possible due to our mistakes. We all have to take responsibility for this defeat,' added Coach Pandey. 

APF needs improvement

Despite performing well in domestic football, APF's poor performance on the international stage continued. The final was APF's tenth match in an international club competition. Of these, APF has won only two matches. Both of these matches were won against weak opponents in the current tournament. In such a situation, coach Pandey agreed, ‘The APF team needs to improve.’ He said, ‘In the future, more new plans will be needed to make APF stronger in domestic and international competitions.’