Bangladesh made a rollicking start in their Men’s Junior AHF Cup campaign with a resounding 7-0 win over Chinese Taipei at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. In the other match of the day, Oman thumped Thailand by the same margin.
The Bangladesh youngsters began the match in a rusty manner having missed a number of good chances before eventually netting their first goal in the opening half. The hosts, however, came out in the second half with all guns blazing firing in another six goals.
Bangladesh piled up a considerable amount of pressure but due to their misfiring forwards had to wait till the 27th minute for their first goal. The deadlock was broken through penalty-corner specialist Khorshedur Rahman after Milon’s push and skipper Sarwar Hossain’s stop.
Heading into the second half with a slender 1-0 lead, Bangladesh changed their strategy and adopted an all-out attacking approach. The alteration paid immediate dividends as Mainul Islam Koushik made it 2-0 in the 41st minute, defender Ashraful added the third three minutes later while another defender, Khorshed, grabbed the side’s fourth in the 46th minute. Three quickfire goals in five minutes broke down Chinese Taipei’s resistance.
Milon notched Bangladesh’s fifth in the 50th minute, Koushik struck his second and the home side’s sixth three minutes later while Milon hit his second in the 56th minute to complete the rout.
Bangladesh coach Mamunur Rashid said his charges, eight of whom are from the senior team, were initially nervous in the first half. “They were nervous and we opted for a counter-attacking strategy. However, in the second half we decided to attack from all fronts while our penalty-corner variations worked perfectly.”
Captain Sarwar, who plays in midfield, was a relieved man following the end of the game. “The first half was poor but in the second we showed our potential. Technically and physically Chinese Taipei are not bad. We have to continue the trend.”
Meanwhile in the first match of the day, Oman thrashed a hapless Thailand 7-0. The losing side only arrived in Dhaka on Sunday night and a match the following day was always going to be a tall order. The Thais shipped six goals in the second half.
