Bangladesh football team head coach Jamie Day expressed contentment after a comfortable win over Nepal but warned his disciples not to get carried away ahead of the second friendly, scheduled for Tuesday.
“It’s good for us that there is no injury and got some fitness into the boys. As it is the first match in eight months I’m pleased with the performance. It’s nice to win but we should not get carried away,” said Day after the game Friday.
“It was a tough game. We have to look after the players for the next couple of days and get the recovery before the second friendly,” the English tactician said in the post-match press conference.
The victory was rewarded by Bangladesh Football Federation.
After the match, the national team management committee announced Tk10 lakhs as reward for Jamal Bhuiyan and Co.
Bangladesh enjoyed a better first-half where they scored and went close to converting at least three good chances.
The home side couldn’t carry the same tempo after the break which Day admitted courteously.
“The boys played well in the first half. We had more chances and ball possession. But Nepal were the better team in the second half, thanks to Sufil [Mahbubur Rahman] for killing the game,” said Day.
Bangladesh made a happy return to competitive football after a long Covid-19 pause as they defeated Nepal 2-0 in the...
Posted by Sports Tribune on Friday, 13 November 2020
“We assumed that the players would get tired and that was evident in 10-15 minutes. It’s fantastic to win but it’s just a pre-season game for me. It’s about getting the players fit.”
It was a brilliant early goal that came from the combination of Abahani Limited’s Nabib Newaj Jibon and Saad Uddin, which helped his teammates raise their confidence in the rest of the first half.
The second goal from a counter attack was also nicely initiated by Sohel Rana who set Sufil free for the second goal.
The 41-year old coach praised the scorers.
“Very good goals actually. Saad did very well crossing and Jibon did a good finish. It could have been two or three after that, we worked on counter attack in training and that’s nice to get the goal after fine effort. Great run from Sufil,” said Day.
Nepal head coach Bal Gopal Maharjan pointed to a lack of preparation and missing key players behind the defeat but he too was pleased with the performance of his charges.
“We played a good game. I’m happy with the boys. It doesn’t matter we win or lose. I can’t assess the players as we are short of preparation and fitness and lacked little bit of experience. I hope we improve next game,” said the Nepal coach.
Bangladesh will play Nepal again for the second friendly Tuesday before flying to Qatar for the pending away fixture of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifier on December 4.