Wasted opportunity
Bangladesh wasted a glorious opportunity to grab all three points in their second fixture of the Joint Qualifiers of the World Cup and the Asian Cup against Tajikistan at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The men in red and green, who took a deserved lead early in the second half after having played dominant and eye-catching football for most part of the opening half, were left to rue some wasted opportunities and a needless free-kick at the death to share the spoils against 10-man Tajikistan in front of some 10,000 home supporter.
The hosts had taken the lead in the 50th minute, thanks to a tap-in from the goalline by Zahid Hasan Emily after Hemanta Vincent Biswas saw his faint header on a Mamunul Islam free-kick only half-stopped by Tajikistan keeper Alisher Tuychiev.
But the goal seemed only to unleash the threat from the visitors and setting the cat amongst the pigeons in the Bangladesh ranks, resulting in some nervous moments and finally to a needless challenge in front of the box. And as has been the pattern of Bangladesh's football off late, the free-kick turned into the equalising goal, earning first point of the campaign to the two teams, who had started with identical 1-3 defeats on Thursday.
Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif, who had to watch the proceedings from the VIP box for being suspended for this match, had brought on two changes to the starting eleven from the previous match.
Right-back Nasirul Islam replaced injured Nasiruddin Chowdhury while young winger Jewel Rana was drafted in place of veteran Enamul Haque.
The changes seemed to spark life into the team as the hosts started brightly and dictated terms in the opening half.
Jewel, with his nifty dribbles, proved to be a constant havoc for the visitors while Mamunul pulled the strings from deep into his own half as Bangladesh played some eye-catching, albeit a bit sluggish, passing football.
However, the most open chance of the first half came to the visitors in the 22nd minute when Makhmudov Khurshed latched onto a through-pass from Vasiev Dilshod inside the box and nodded it towards goal, only to be denied by a brilliant block by centre-back Yeasin Ahmed.
But the hosts took a deserved lead five minutes after restart when Tuychiev failed to grab Hemanta's header leaving Emily with the simplest of nods from the goalline.
The visitors stepped up the attack, with two substitutions, and came close to scoring twice in the 62nd minute, but saw Manucher Dzhalilov fail to keep his header on target from point-blank range before being denied by Bangladesh goalie Rasel Mahmud Liton.
However, against the run of play the visitors were down to ten men in the 67th minute when Hemanta's mazy run was cynically cut short by Asrorov Siyovush around the centre-circle, earning the defender a second yellow card.
Emily should have taken the game away from the visitors, but his wayward headers from inside the box paved the way for a nervous last quarter of an hour for the hosts.
And then the veteran forward brought disaster onto his team with a needless challenge on a Tajikistan forward five yards in front of the box with just three minutes left of regular time.
Mamunul raced out of the wall on the first free-kick, earning himself a yellow card and giving away another free-kick three yards in front. And the resulting free-kick was deliciously curled in by Fakthuloev.
Bangladesh will play their next qualifying match away to Perth against the Socceroos on September 3.
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