Football: Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2020 |27 January 2020

Palestine thrash Burundi to retain title

After struggling past Seychelles in the semifinal, Palestine managed to retain their Bangabandhu Gold Cup title with a 3-1 victory over Burundi in the final on Saturday.

Clearly the dominant side, Palestine scored three times in the first 23 minutes of the match for a comfortable three-goal cushion at half-time.

Their first goal came in the 3rd minute of play, courtesy of Khaled Salem, before Sameh Maraaba doubled the score in the 10th minute.

Palestine went 3-0 up in the 26th minute through a Layth Kharoub’s strike.

Burundi’s consolation goal came in the 60th minute of the match through defender Asman Ndikumana.

Seychelles took part in the tournament for the first time and it was also the team’s first international outing for 2020 under the guidance of coach Ralph Jean-Louis who has taken over from Dutchman Jan Mak.

In three matches at the tournament, Seychelles registered one draw and two defeats.

Against Burundi in their first group match, Seychelles took a 1-0 lead, only to let it slip in the second half, losing the match 1-3.

In the second group match, our national selection were up against neighbours Mauritius and once again, Seychelles took the lead, dominating the Dallons 2-0, before allowing them to come back and level the score for a final 2-2 draw.

In the semifinal against back-to-back winners Palestine, Seychelles put up their best performance, narrowly losing the match 0-1 through a clumsy goal from Layth Kharoub in the 79th minute.

Roland Duval