Dhaka Abahani conceded a humiliating 1-0 defeat against Erchim FC of Mongolia to crash out of the AFC President’s Cup qualifiers at the Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu yesterday. The Dhaka sky-blues drew by an identical 1-1 each against hosts Three Star Club and former champions Taiwan Power Company in their previous two matches but had suffer an exit in a disgraceful manner after the loss against an comparatively easy opponent Erchim. The Mongolian was playing in the tournament for the first time and in terms of FIFA rankings Mongolia (185) is ranked behind 31 steps behind Bangladesh (154).
Squandering scoring chances turned out to be the Achilles Heel for Abahani according to manager Satyajit Das Rupu. “We pulled out about five scoring chances and among them three were clear cut. Rony and Touhid wasted a lot which is the cause of the defeat,” Rupu told the Dhaka Tribune.
“It is very simple that you cannot win if you cannot score. I would also like to add that the goal we concede was scored from an off-side position. All the spectators protested the decision of the Pakistani linesman,” said Rupu over the phone.
In the opening minutes Abahani dominated the scene and in the 23rd minute Awudu Ibrahim’s free kick, which was not properly cleared by skipper Tserenjav, was later kicked away by Tuguldur who came to the rescue.
The first half was rather sluggish but Abahani failed to add speed against a team who lost their first game of the group 0-2 against Three Star Club of Nepal.
In the 53rd minute Erchim forward Enkhtur shot the ball out from the top of the six-yard box only to regret the great opportunity while five minutes later Waly Faisal of Abahani sent a neat cross in from left but striker Rony failed to capitalize from close range. The missed chance cost Abahani the match as Batbilguun of Erchim scored from a quick counter attack shortly afterwards.
In the 90th minute Abahani midfielder Chomrine Rakhain hit the upright of Erchim post much to the dismay of the Bangladeshi club.
Abahani assistant coach Amalesh Sen rued missed chances for the shocking loss when speaking with the press at the post match conference.
"The Erchim FC goal was controversial. It looked like an off side goal. However, our strikers are also to be blamed for the loss. They wasted three clear cut goal scoring chances" said Amalesh. Erchim FC manager Bayasgalan Choidogjamts was pleased with his charges' performance.
