'Underdogs' hold hosts
Bangladesh huffed and puffed to a 1-1 draw against supposed rank outsiders Bhutan in their second match of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers yesterday as their hopes of a finals berth became bleak.
The hosts had to work their socks off in front of a thousand frustrated spectators at the Bangabandhu National Stadium and needed a last-ditch equaliser from skipper Mashuk Mia Johnny to salvage a point after conceding the lead in the sixth minute.
With four points from two matches, Bangladesh would need at least a draw tomorrow -- which would be some sort of a miracle given the performances so far -- against favourites Uzbekistan, who are sitting pretty at the top with six points and a positive goal difference of 10. Despite the draw, Bangladesh are in second position with four points.
Coach Saiful Bari Titu rued his charges' listless performance, especially in the first half, but gave full credit to the Bhutan players for turning up with a spirited display.
"This is my failure. My players failed to play their natural game in the face of pressing football from the opposition, which is remorseful. Our players played with whole-hearted effort in the second half, but the Bhutan players were technically better," conceded the coach in his post-match analysis.
Titu and his charges had sounded out their intentions of winning this match by a big margin, but they started the game like underdogs, chasing the ball against pressing football of the opposition. Bangladesh's defence looked nervous and it didn't take long for the hosts to go a goal down.
Left-back Mohammad Emon, under pressure from the Bhutan forwards, conceded a corner in the sixth minute. Nima Wangdi's low attempt was tucked in on the second attempt by an unmarked Sonam Togbay.
Bangladesh took time to gain a foothold in the game, and their first shot on goal, a weak attempt by Mannaf Rabbi, was cleared off the line by a Bhutanese defender in the 19th minute. Bishwanath Ghosh then made a last-ditch tackle to deny Bhutan from doubling their lead before speedy forward Sarwar Zaman Nipu replaced Saad Uddin on the half-hour mark. Bhutan goalkeeper Gyaltshen Zangpo kept his side's lead intact by blocking a powerful shot from Rohit Sarker before Ibrahim's toe-poke missed the crossbar by a whisker just before the half-time whistle.
Another effort from Rohit was kept out by the Bhutan goalkeeper, but the hosts largely found it hard to penetrate the five-man Bhutan defence, which had leaked in seven goals against Uzbekistan on Friday.
The persistent pressure paid off when Johnny headed home a perfectly-weighted free-kick from Ibrahim in the 78th minute, however, any hopes of a heroic late winner for the hosts did not materialise as the Bhutanese defence held firm.
UZBEKS AMBLE PAST SRI LANKA
In the first match of the day, Uzbekistan eased to a 3-0 victory against Sri Lanka. The Central Asian side romped to a 3-0 lead within the half-hour mark, but failed to further increase the lead, thanks to two goalline saves from the Sri Lanka defenders on either side of the break.
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