'We did everything but score'

Bangladesh coach Tom Saintfiet hinted at the possibility of naturalising a foreign striker as he expressed his frustration after a goalless draw against Bhutan in the Asian Cup Qualifying Playoff first leg at the Bangabandhu National Stadium last night.

The 43-year-old Belgian praised the commitment and spirit of his players, but bemoaned the lack of finishing skills of his strikers after the hosts had spurned a number of scoring chances against the visitors.

Referring to Qatar's naturalised Uruguay-born striker Sebastian Soria, the Belgian complained that he didn't know where to get goals from.

“I think we agree that we, Bangladesh, did everything to score a goal,” the coach said. “I could have put on a midfielder [in the second half] but we played with five players attacking the goal because I wanted to win. In the last 10 minutes I think we should have scored five to 10 goals. We had the ball but couldn't finish.”

Playing with a youthful attacking line-up, the Belgian saw his most experienced striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony spurn three chances in the first half. He made three attack-minded substitutions in the second half, but nothing worked as the Bangladesh forwards did all they could except for finding the back of the net.

“Our defence was good. Our midfield was alone, but they played well. The young players played with a lot of heart. The only thing that didn't happen was a goal. We don't have strikers. I don't know what we have to do because we can't score,” lamented Saintfiet.

The coach, however, tried to see the brighter side of things as he felt a goalless draw was a much safer option to take to the away fixture than a defeat. “I came to the dug-out and some players were crying. It shows how much these players love the country. I told them we didn't lose the battle. 1-1 or 2-2 in Bhutan, we will qualify. If it was 1-1 here, it would have been more difficult. I believe with the motivation and spirit, we can win in Bhutan.”

The Bhutan coach, Pema Dorji, said the result was a fair one. “Bangladesh created a number of chances, especially in the last five to 10 minutes. But I'm happy to take a draw home.” Pema said. “It won't be easy in the return leg. The home game is always important because the public wants more from us. There will be crowd pressure, so it won't be easy.”