England-born Australia coach Andrew Ord began his Bangladesh tenure with a narrow defeat as the U-23 national team conceded a 1-0 loss against host Nepal U-23 side in a friendly at ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Kathmandu on Tuesday.
The friendly was part of both the sides’ preparation for the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers, which begins in Palestine on July 19. Star Nepal footballer and captain Bimal Gharti Magar netted the only goal of the game in the 19th minute to hand the visitor their first defeat of the year.
Since Bangladesh’s much-talked about defeat against Bhutan in October last year, the country’s senior side have been going through some difficult times – losing the head coach, no international fixtures and record demotion in the Fifa ranking, among other things.Since then, Ord took over in place of the previous head coach, Belgian Tom Saintfiet.
"The difference was in the strikers. They had someone who took responsibility in front of goal. He was very direct. We have got players who are running away from the goal, rather than taking the initiative,” said Ord after the game.
He added, “We had several good opportunities, just couldn't convert them into goals. Two clear penalties were there as well, which were not given by the referee. It is hurting us that our big players didn't do anything for one month. The good news is that it's not the tournament, the game will help us to build our fitness and mentality."
It should also be noted that the game was played on astroturf. Much of U-23’s training camp in the last couple of weeks, including a practice match against Dhaka Abahani Limited, was played on natural grass. The team will leave Nepal for Qatar on Wednesday where they will enjoy a three-day training camp, including another friendly.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
