Emdad Rahman
Hundreds gathered as the first ever Jagannathpur Union Cup competition took place at Mabley Green, Hackney. It is the very first time a Bangladesh Union tournament of this type has been staged amongst the worldwide Jagannathpur community.
Shadwell and Sporting Bengal legend Sana Miah and his Mirpur team had been installed as pre-tournament favourites, but as soon as the first whistle was blown the form guide was chucked into the nearest football skip as a torrent of passion, blood and thunder took over the proceedings – all in a good spirit.
The final was a tight knit affair, with Stepney stalwart Akik Miah’s Ranigonj making history by lifting the trophy for the first time.
The match against Syedpur & Sharpara went to a penalty shoot out and the shootout hero was Raniginj goalkeeper and man of the match Asif Solomon.
Jagannathpur FC Secretary Akik Miah said, “We have caused quite a furore with our win. We were not placed amongst the favourites but pulled it out of the bag. That’s football for you.”
Jagannathpur added to the atmosphere and fanfare by introducing a traditional gesture from a bygone era whereby every player was gifted a comb and mirror as a thank you for their participation.
Jagannathpur Chair Bokul Hussain concluded: “It’s been a day of great fun and football has strengthened our community no end. The atmosphere throughout has been fantastic and this is the beginning of many more community events which we have planned. Thank you to everyone. You all made this day such a great success.”
•Jagannathpur Union Cup 2016: the teams Ranigonj – Asharkhandi – Syedpur & Sharpara – Mirpur – Jagannathpur Poroshova – U U Jagannathpur
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