Bangladesh’s hope of making it to the semi-final of the SAFF Championship received a major blow after going down against hosts Nepal in a 2-0 defeat in the tournament opener at the Dasharath Rangashala Stadium on Saturday. Bangladesh had also fallen to a defeat in the previous meeting between the two sides at the SAFF Championship in New Delhi two years ago when Nepal recorded a 1-0 win in the group stage.
Lodewijk de Kruif, head coach of Bangladesh ranked his unit as outsiders before the start of the tournament and it was clearly evident as his charges put on a listless display.
On the other hand, the hosts announced themselves as the new football powerhouse in the subcontinent region by exhibiting a spectacular team performance.
The Nepalese forward line of Anil Gurung and Bharat Khawash was the main difference between the two sides as the Bangladeshi defence failed to cope with the continuous onslaughts from the home side’s attackers.
Bangladesh forwards, debutant Wahed Ahmed and veteran Zahid Hasan Ameli, did not get any assistance from their midfielders that enabled Nepal to take control of midfield and dictate play.
Bangladesh badly missed the services of their injured captain and playmaker Mamunul Islam. Two wingers, Zahid Hossain and Toklis Ahmed endeavoured hard to build up some chances but a strong Nepal back-four defied all the attempts.
Nepal took the lead in the 18th minute when Anil Gurung put his side ahead with an angular header after a fine Bhola Nath cross from the right flank.
In the 31st minute, the hosts earned their second corner and doubled the lead as Bharat Khawash converted the corner delivered by Jagjeet Shreshtha.
Bangladesh failed to reduce the arrears after the interval as De Kruif made three substitutions in a bid to change the complexion of the game.
The hosts could easily have increased the scoreline as three or four easy chances were put to waste by the Nepalese forwards.
Bangladeshi goalkeeper Mamun Khan made a number of excellent saves to keep the margin of defeat at 2-0.
Bangladesh will face defending champions India in their second match on September 3.
Result
Nepal 2 (Anil Gurung 18, Bharat Khawas 31) v
Bangladesh 0
-With New Age input
