Bhutan’s solid defensive strategy earned them a point against a misfiring Bangladesh side as the team’s played out a 1-1 draw in their second match in the AFC Under-19 Qualifiers at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
After conceding an early goal the young Tigers slipped under pressure and had to wait till the final quarter of the match to equalise the margin, thanks to skipper Masuk Miah Jony’s terrific header. The draw put the unbeaten Bangladeshis in a tricky position to qualify for the final round as they must secure at least one point in their ultimate group game against giants Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Although Bhutan did not dominate enough considering their ball possession, but their organised style of play along with their capability of neutralising incoming scoring threats was impressive. The hosts were all over their opponents in the second-half but to no effect.
Saiful Bari Titu fielded an unchanged eleven from their 2-0 win over Sri Lanka with Mannaf Rabby starting as the lone striker once again. However, this time around neither Rabby nor Rohit Sarkar was upto the mark as Ibrahim did most of the hard work from the left wing.
Bhutan stunned the home side after Sonam Tobgay poked the lead from a goal-mouth melee with just six minutes on the clock. Bangladesh had their first shot on target in the 19th minute and Mannaf went very close when his weak shot from close range was cleared off the line by Bhutan skipper Choki Wangchuk.
Titu made a strategical substitution by replacing Saad with Sarwar Zaman Nipu just after the half hour mark as Bangladesh followed with more organised attacks. The hosts came agonisingly close in the 43rd minute but the Bhutan custodian tipped Ibrahim’s low drive away and protected their lead. Rohit had the best opportunity to level the score in the 57th minute but the unmarked forward struck straight to the goalkeeper.
Jony rescued his side with a glancing header that went in from the top right corner in the 77th minute. Bangladesh piled more pressure on their comparative weaker opponents but the scoreline remained unchanged.
Uzbeks too good for Lankans
Uzbekistan strolled to their second consecutive victory in the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers when the central Asian nation outplayed Sri Lanka 3-0 at BNS.
Tukhtasinov Nurillo and Kodirkulov Sanjar scored and assisted one apiece in their three-goal romp and all the action came in the first half an hour. The Group A favourites however, were unable to break the shaky Sri Lankan defence throughout the rest of the qualifier.
Nurillo put the Uzbeks ahead in the eighth minute when he placed home a Sanjar cross from the right flank.
Doston Ibragimov doubled the lead in the 20th minute from a Nurillo assist while Sanjar extended the lead in the 33th minute, utilising a Sharof Mukhitdinov pass during a goal-mouth melee. The Uzbeks will face hosts Bangladesh tomorrow at the same venue in their final qualifier.
