Bangladesh opened their proceedings in the Saff Suzuki Cup with a frustrating 4-0 defeat against reigning champions Afghanistan in the first match of Group B at the Trivandrum International stadium in Kerala, India yesterday.
This is the first time the Bengal Tiers tasted defeat at the hands of the Afghans in six senior-level meetings and the former’s display yesterday provided a clear indication as to how far they are in terms of matching their opponents in skills and tactics.
The Bengal Tigers seemed organised at the initial stages of the game but the opposition slowly and surely penetrated the Bangladesh defence, mostly throughout the first half an hour. The Bangladesh footballers were beaten in the air more often than not and it is through this tactic that Afghanistan went ahead.
Masih Saighani broke the deadlock at the half-hour mark following a Hasan corner. Zubayr Amiri nodded the ball towards the path of Saighani and he made no mistake heading home past goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel.
Captain Faysal Shayesteh doubled the lead just two minutes later, side-footing home Amiri’s lobbed cross from the left flank. Right-back Nasirul Islam Nasir was extremely unlucky as he narrowly failed to clear the ball off the line.
In the meantime, Bangladesh’s backline was dangerously exposed on several occasions in the face of some Afghan forays and the third goal duly arrived four minutes before the first half whistle through Amiri.
The baffled Bangladesh side badly missed the calming presence of midfield enforcer Jamal Bhuiyan and midfielder Monayem Khan Raju, who replaced him, did not seem at all capable of keeping the Afghan forwards at bay. Whilst in midfield, the men in red and green showed a lack of creativity and lost possession many times.
Bangladesh’s only real chance of note came in the 40th minute when midfielder Sohel Rana sent the ball flying over the Afghan post after a beautiful low cross delivered by winger Zahid Hossain. The Bengal Tigers had another opportunity 13 minutes into the second half when forward Shakhawat Hossain Rony missed the target from a Hemanta Vincent Biswas cross.
Bangladesh head coach Maruful Haque substituted Rana on the hour mark and on came winger Jewel Rana but the change hardly worked.
And Khaibar Amani completed the scoreline in the 69th minute after his initial effort was blocked by Sohel.
Jamal came off the bench in the dying stages of the tie, giving Bangladesh hope ahead of their next match against Maldives at the same venue tomorrow.
Meanwhile in yesterday’s first match, Maldives earned a comfortable 3-1 victory over Bhutan. Ahmed Imaaz, Assadhulla Abdulla and veteran forward Ali Ashfaq scored for the victors while Tshering Dorji netted the consolation goal for the losing side.
Bangladesh currently occupy last place in Group B while the Afghans lead the table, closely followed by Maldives with Bhutan in third.
