Country’s ace goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico, experienced defender Topu Barman and young sensation Sheikh Morsalin were all ruled out but Javier Cabrera’s side managed a creditable draw away to the Maldives with a new set of footballers, something that was unthinkable even two weeks ago.
Mitul Marma replaced No 1 Zico but the Sheikh Russel keeper had little to do when Bangladesh conceded the first goal in the 87th minute following a decent performance on his international debut at the age of 19.
He denied Maldives from scoring earlier after heading away Ali Fasir’s shot on one-on-one.
Shakil Hossain replaced Topu to pair with Tariq Kazi in the middle of defence to mark his debut with almost a clean-sheet.
Foysal Ahmed Fahim usually plays on wing but the 21-year old was tried in a new role as center-forward to replace in-form youngster Morsalin.
He had his chances but could not convert any.
Bangladesh kicked off the game with a record of losing all four matches against the Maldives away in the last 12 years, scoring only once and conceding 12 goals.
Saad Uddin made an immediate impact after coming off the bench to seal an injury-time equalizer as Cabrera’s charges left the pitch with a sigh of relief.
The praiseworthy draw against 155th placed Maldives also gave the Spanish tactician more confidence on the depth of his squad that is currently ranked 189th.
“We are being able to create a very competitive group of not only 12-15 players but I would say 25-plus players. They are ready to go to the pitch anytime and perform for the country which is very positive.” Cabrera said in the post-match press conference.
Saad, once a promising winger who became an overnight hero after his debut goal against India four years ago, has mostly been playing as right back in recent times but did not forget his previous job.
Within two minutes after coming off the bench, the versatile super-sub stripped off his jersey to celebrate his second international goal and was later lost for words having scored such a dramatic last-gasp equalizer.
The men in red and green will face another Maldives test in the return leg at home Tuesday and there would be no option but to win to progress to the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers.