Girls out of reckoning

Bangladesh's dream of qualifying for the second round of the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers was shattered after they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Chinese Taipei in their Group D encounter at Hisor Central Stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan yesterday.

Two defeats in two matches means Bangladesh have no chance of finishing as the group runners-up as South Korea and Chinese Taipei are now in the top two positions in the four-team group with six points each. Bangladesh and hosts Tajikistan are on the bottom with two defeats.

Having suffered a 7-0 defeat against two-time champions South Korea, the girls in red and green had no alternative but to beat Chinese Taipei, but they could not cope up with the opposition, who were according to team sources, better than they were expected to be.

Chinese Taipei scored either side of the break to ensure the victory after mauling Tajikistan 7-0 in the previous match.

The two defeats may, however, prove to be an eye-opener for the game's local governing body regarding the fact the girls, who have been lighting things up at under-16 level in both South Asia and AFC zones, need more maturity by playing in a domestic league if they want to move further in Asia.