A schoolboy error by goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel saw hosts Bangladesh exit the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in the last-four hurdle against Bahrain Under-23 football team at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
A toe infection ruled out in-form netminder Ashraful Islam Rana from the game and in came Sohel as his replacement. However, the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi custodian had a day to forget as Bahrain midfielder Ebrahim Alhooti bagged the match-winning goal in the latter stages of the first half.
The Bengal Tigers will be extremely disappointed with their performance as they were desperate to atone for their group-stage exit in the recently-concluded Saff Suzuki Cup. However, all they could manage in the fourth edition of the eight-nation tournament was a semi-final exit against an inexperienced and semi-professional Bahrain U-23 side.
The home side may have dominated possession and created a host of chances but at the end of the day, the result is all that matters.
Bangladesh head coach Maruful Haque continued to tinker with the starting XI as he named Sohel Rana in the line-up and preferred Mithun Chowdhury in place of youngster Nabib Newaj Jibon.
Like the previous matches of the tournament, the home side were the dominant of the two sides in the first half but were unable to break the deadlock.
The only occasions when the Bahrain defence was under the cosh were during the long throw-ins taken by Rayhan Hasan. Almost all of Rayhan’s throw-ins landed inside the opposition terrain but the forwards failed to utilise any of them.
The shooting accuracy of the Bangladesh strikers continued to desert them and it was Jamal Bhuiyan who was the culprit in the 16th minute. Mamunul Islam curved in a delightful corner but the wasteful Jamal shot over the bar from close range.
In the 41st minute, Sohel made a decent save to thwart forward Anwar Ali’s sneaking free kick from 25 yards out but he was culpable for conceding a silly goal moments away from the first half whistle when midfielder Alhooti put the visitors ahead.
The men in red and green continued to heap pressure on the opposition after resumption but were let down every time due to the forward line’s profligacy. The in-form Shakhawat Hossain Rony was a mere shadow of himself on several occasions and when the referee blew the final whistle, the Bengal Tigers’ miseries were completed.
