Bangladesh conceded their first defeat in the Saff U-15 Championship 2019 as they lost to Nepal 4-1 in their third match of the round-robin league at the Kalyani Stadium in Nadia district of West Bengal, India Tuesday afternoon.
Bangladesh’s bid to retain the title as well as to reach the final hit a big blow with the defeat as they now have to beat table toppers India in their last group match Thursday to keep their hopes alive.
Coach Mostafa Anwar Parvez Babu, who also led the U15 boys to the title in the last edition, blamed his defence and goalkeeper for the defeat. “We have faced some problems in goalkeeping because we conceded goals in every match.”
“We created some chances at the beginning but our forwards failed to utilize those. It was still an evenly contested game before we conceded the first goal due to blunders from the goalkeeper and defence. We tried to pull pressure on the opponents but their defence stood solid.”
India, who claimed their third straight victory with 5-0 win over Sri Lanka Tuesday, are currently leading the five-team table with nine points. Bangladesh and Nepal are tied at the second place with six points each but Nepal will have a much easier opponents in Bhutan in their last group match.
Bangladesh U15 national team is flying high following their dominating wins in the opening two matches and the boys are quite confident when they face Nepal in their third match.https://t.co/yaWOqbJ4YJ
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 26, 2019
If Nepal beat Bhutan on Thursday’s first match, Bangladesh would have no other option but to beat India. Parvez said, “India are a strong team but we have to set a new strategy and find a way to face them.”
It was substitute striker Krisna Adhikary Yadav who put Nepal ahead in the added time of the first half from a counter attack before captain Pradip Lamsal doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a right-footed strike from outside the box.
Substitute midfielder Md Badsha Mia pulled one back for Bangladesh in the 79th minute after utilizing a clearance of Nepal defence before smashing home from the middle of the box.
Lamsal extended their lead in the 84th minute with a long-range effort before Yadav killed the game with the fourth goal three minutes later.
