Bangladesh’s Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif blamed the concentration and mentality of his charges, especially in the first half an hour, following the 1-0 defeat against Malaysia Under-23 in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup opener at Sylhet District Stadium yesterday.
“Everybody was very nervous in the first 25-30 minutes. Everybody was very tensed to play a normal game. A lot of pressure from Malaysia but the pressure was only because we failed to do our thing, we failed to play our game,” explained De Kruif after the game.
“But, the most important thing is that, when your mentality is not hundred percent, you never win the game, never. And, that was our lacking in the first 30 minutes. We didn’t get enough self-confidence. That is why we played a very difficult first half,” he added.
Following the defeat, veteran forward Jahid Hasan Emily bore the brunt of the criticism. The Sheikh Russel striker was unable to justify his billing as the country’s leading frontman, wasting a number of gilt-edged chances against the Malaysian Olympic side.
From the left flank, winger Zahid Hossain delivered two lovely crosses for Emily in the opening half but Bangladesh’s highest goalscorer in international football failed to connect any of them due to his slow pace.
Juvenile midfielder Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Sohel Rana also distributed fine crosses at the path of Emily but those chances went begging as Emily was nowhere near the deliveries owing to his movement, or, a lack of it.
De Kruif, however, defended his striker saying, “I’m happy with Emily. He could not solve the chances. It is a concentration and mentality factor that every player must have, not only Emily.”
Although the 43-year old coach did not blame Bangladesh goalkeeper Russel Mahmud Liton for conceding the goal, he admitted it was a silly one.
“Only for me, I think that was not a difficult ball. It looked a bit like what happened in the first half. It dropped in the bar. When you watch it several times, you realise you have to do something, that is why you are a goalkeeper. I am not pointing the finger to anybody but it’s a silly goal,” said De Kruif.
Despite the defeat, one positive that emerged from the game for the home side was the attacking roles of Zahid and Hemanta. Credit must be given to De Kruif for giving the young duo more attacking responsiblities.
“I’m very happy with Zahid and Hemanta. I think those two, you can pick them out. They played 90 minutes like we want them to play. But, you need eleven players to win the game.”