Mariners retain Club Cup crown

Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club retained the Club Cup hockey tournament title, beating Abahani 2-0 in the final at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

It was a second consecutive title in the season's curtain-raising tournament for the Arambagh-based outfit, who had defeated the same opposition 3-0 in the final of the last edition held in 2021.

Mariners dominated the game from get-go and took the lead through a reverse-hit from their Indian recruit Deepak Kumar in the fifth minute of the second quarter.

Abahani, however, created a few close chances and earned two penalty corners but Mariners goal-keeper Abu Sayeed Nippon was exceptional between the sticks, denying Indian forward Sunil Kumar from point-blank range in the first quarter.

There were some heated moments as the game was stopped for around 15 minutes in the second quarter after Abahani were awarded a penalty corner, which the Mariners players denied to accept.

Following repeated attempts from the tournament committee officials, the Mariner players eventually agreed to return to the field.

Fazle Hossain Rabbi, who was later adjudged player of the final, extended Mariners' lead in the last minute of the third quarter from a penalty stroke and Abahani were never able to stage a fightback.

Mariners were in emphatic throughout the tournament as they had stormed into the final with a massive 8-4 win over Usha KC on the back of three convincing wins in the previous matches and they capped the tournament off with a convincing victory.

Mariners coach Mamunur Rashid attributed the lack of fitness of Abahani players as well as some tactical errors from the opposition team as the reason for their victory.

"I think they (Abahani) had fitness issues. At one point, they just stood in the middle. I think our main strength was the unity as we give importance to every single player. They also made a few mistakes regarding their playing positions as their midfield was wide open and we exploited those mistakes. I think the turning point of the game was the second goal," Mamunur told The Daily Star after the match.

The senior coach said that they were successfully able to mark the player of the tournament, Abahani's Ashraful Islam, who scored three goals in the tournament, with a different strategy.

"We managed to block Ashraful successfully as we had three players coming together during the penalty corners and we created a wall in front of him and didn't give him any opportunity to score," he added.