Austin Powers
Austin Cougars
Cougars overcame Powers by a Solitary Goal!!
Austin Cougars 1
It was another do-or-die match for the defending Champion, Austin Powers whereas a draw would have been sufficient for Austin Cougars to go through to the semi-final.
Austin Powers started to go all out from the very beginning and understandably so. Powers had Sahil, Zayed, and Farhan AB up front just above the midfield of Omee, Sabbir, and Captain Anuj himself. Powers had Fahim Shahriar, Hasib, Rajib led by Zakir Shafi at defense and Jalal under the goal post. On the other hand, Austin Cougars put up their defense line with Oli, Sanjay, Sushan, and Bulbul (Imamul). In the midfield, Cougars had Mridul, Mukit and Polin just above the defensive mid-field of Iqbal and Adit Hasan. Experienced Zia and veteran, Mir were up front to use their height and experience to score. Cougars had arguably the best keeper of Austin, Munir Faisal under the post who conceded only one goal in the entire league stage.
Having worked with Captain Anuj in Austin Powers team last year, master tactician, Manager Nipu had some ideas of Anuj’s game plan. Manager Nipu played a masterstroke, using Adit Hasan to cage Power’s star playmaker Sahil from the very beginning. Although Captain Anuj tried to build up attacks with young turk, Zayed and Omee, Sahil was seen closely marked by Adit Hasan. For that reason, many of Power’s attacks were ending outside the D-Box of Cougars. Bulbul (Imamul) was playing with a big heart and was neutralizing all the attacks. Bulbul proved that many of the teams made a big mistake not picking him earlier during the draft.
On the other hand, Cougars was using long balls from Oli to form their attacks instead of building it through the wings. Captain Polin, Mridul, Zia, and Mir were creating problems from those long balls at Power’s defense. Zia and Mir have gotten couple of good balls from Mridul and Polin, but they were not able to score from those. Mir had gotten a beautiful through ball from Mridul in the D box; five years ago, he would have surely scored, but now veteran Mir was outpaced by Fahim Shahriar and Zakir Shafi. First half of the match ended at 0-0.
Austin Powers became more desperate in the second half searching for goals. Sahil tried to break the shackles and use the excellent through balls from Anuj. As Powers were waving the spree of attacks over Courgar’s defense, it created a lot of open space in the mid/defensive midfield of Powers. Oli kept producing long balls to Mridul, Zia, and Mir who were waiting for the opportunity for a clear chance. Along one of these long balls, Cougars had gotten a free kick from the left wing just above the midfield area. Oli came from the defense and took a very good kick at the D-Box of Powers. Veteran Mir who is known for his death-headers, somehow managed to head-flick the ball to opportunist, Mridul who sent the ball back of the net with a deft touch. Mridul should be thanking Oli for that great freekick, 1-0 for Cougars!
Powers broke down in dismay, but Captain Anuj didn’t give up. He led a spree of attacks along with Zayed, Sahil and Omee and created a lot of good opportunities. But Bulbul (Imamul) was having a game of his life! He stood like a tiger and was clearing the ball out of the parks. Captain Polin and Mridul came down to defend and kept the team Cougars away from danger for the remainder of the game. Captain Anuj tried to lift the team up, but there was too much to do that late in the game. Powers ended their journey too early in this tournament. Austin Cougars played to their strength, ‘defense’ which is reflected in their ‘goals conceded’ tally. Austin Cougars must be thankful having a master tactician like Manager Nipu, along with the calm demeanor, Emran. On the other hand, Austin Powers must be ruing their loss in the first match against Austin Fighters. They would be searching for answers to a lot of questions around ifs and buts, until the next tournament in 2023.