U-17s eke out fortunate win
Bangladesh made a winning start to the AFC U-17 Championship Qualifiers with a fortunate 2-1 win over Singapore in their Group E encounter at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium yesterday.
Curiously, Singapore scored all three goals in the game, incredibly bundling twice into their own net for own goals as Bangladesh notched up a win in front of nearly 2,000 spectators after Yemen had put up a scintillating performance to demolish Bhutan 8-0 in the day's first match.
With the match trickling towards a 1-1 draw, Singapore goalkeeper Issac Lee fumbled the ball into his own net as he tried to latch onto a header from teammate Jonan Tan following a long throw from Mohammad Ratul.
Bangladesh, comprising players from the BFF Elite Academy, completely failed to live up to expectations on the field despite having played 22 matches in the second-tier Bangladesh Championship League.
The boys in red and green struggled to even receive and control the ball on the artificial turf. They tried to press the opponents through both flanks but Singapore's defence negotiated the attacks before launching on the break themselves.
Despite erratic passing and casual ball control, Bangladesh enjoyed the lion's share of possession. The initial pressure from the hosts saw Singapore concede an own goal in the 10th minute after Nazimuddin narrowly missed a third-minute attempt after the shaky Lee deposited the ball to Nazimuddin's feet just outside the box.
As Paul Smalley's charges continued to penetrate, centre-back Brayden Goh struck an own goal while attempting to clear a cross from Nazimuddin. Five minutes later, Mirajul Islam darted into the box from the right flank and unleashed a shot, only to be thwarted by Lee.
Singapore then found the equaliser from a counter-attack, with Muhammad Syazwan driving home from outside the box in the 28th minute.
After resumption, Smalley made four changes, although they hardly impacted the game.
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