Dhaka, Dec 10: 
Memories of Matiur Munna’s sublime golden goal that helped Bangladesh reach the final of the 2003 SAFF Championship in Dhaka with a 2-1 victory against India will resurface at the same venue on Friday when the regional archrivals will be pitted against each other in the second semifinal of the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2009.
The hosts, who went on to win the 2003 SAFF title with a penalty shootout victory against Maldives, will be looking to stop the aerial route of the comparatively taller Indians in the battle for a place in the final which starts at 7:30 pm.
The Indians, visibly the tallest outfit among the participants, were seen using the flanks on most of their offensive initiatives in their three group matches trying to take the advantage of their height. Bangladesh coach Shahidur Rahman Chowdhury Shantoo was preparing his team to face the crucial challenge in a changed circumstance.
“Semifinal is a knockout match and there is no scope of committing mistakes, the team will be aware of it and any undermining of the opponent can bring the ultimate danger,” said Shantoo ahead of the India-Bangladesh match.
The coach elaborated the three step scheme. “We divided our matches in three phases, the group stage, the semifinals and the final, we achieved our first target. Now we are in the second phase, we hope to achieve it and move to the final the third and final phase of our target,” said Shantoo.
Bangladesh registered a 4-1 win over Bhutan, drew goalless with Pakistan and recorded a 2-1 victory over Sri Lanka to emerge champions of Group B. Shantoo was referring to the hard work.
“All my players have been tested and their combinations have gelled together. I just want the level they have produced in the past three matches and I hope it would be enough,” said Shantoo.
Shantoo will be expecting that his striking duo Enamul, the highest scorer with four goals till date, and Emily will be able to dismantle the Indian forte led by custodian Arindam Bhattacharya.
Indian coach Sukhwinder Singh’s plans were hit by a big blow as two of his reliable midfielders Jagpreet Singh and Manish Mathani were ruled out of the semifinal with injuries and forward Balwant Singh will carry the price of the red card what he saw against Maldives.
“Both Jagpreet and Manish are unavailable but we have to look forward with the available resources, Bangladesh played good football but we aim to win the match,” said the veteran coach.
Sukhwinder claimed Bangladesh’s performances went through ups and downs in the group fixtures and he is not bothered with the advantage of home team.
“They did not play well against Pakistan but fared well in the other two, in modern football home advantage does not play a big role, the prime thing is to play better football,” explained Sukhwinder.
“All my players are professional and accustomed to playing different circumstances and I hope that they produce the teamwork to unsettle the home team,” Indian coach.