Bangladeshi footballers put their recent frustration behind them to finally get a joyous moment as they beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in the second and final match of FIFA Friendly series in Rajshahi on Monday. It ended their winning drought of five matches spanning over 19 months, which the players believe will give them confidence in more serious competitions like SAFF championships. ‘We knew that a win will change everything,’ said striker Zahid Hasan Ameli, who scored the winning goal from the penalty spot on Monday. ‘This is a new start for our team and we will try to continue the winning momentum.’
Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu expressed his satisfaction after his charges provided him with a relief from a nightmare that he suffered four years ago in the AFC Challenge Cup.
Sri Lanka thrashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the now defunct tournament to hand the country one of their worst defeats in history under his guidance.
‘I’m happy with the win as it will help me to bury the bad memory,’ Titu said, who however begrudged for not winning by a bigger margin.
‘I could have been happier if we won the match by 3 or 4 goals,’ said the interim national team coach, who began his third stint as national coach only last week after the Bangladesh Football Federation decided to sack Dutchman Lowdijk de Kruif.
‘Now we have to make the winning a habit and if the boys get more playing chances we will get a strong national team in the coming future,’ Titu said.
Sri Lanka team coach Nikola Kavajovic gave a short speech in the post-match conference and refused to give any answer to any question as he seemed unhappy with the refereeing.
‘It’s my message to all the boys and girls in the world that they should stop playing football because in football, there are many corrupted evil, bad people and if they continue to play football, they will suffer in prime, like my kids,’ said an annoyed Kavajovic.
‘In football, some bad, evil, ugly and stupid people are deciding your destiny and you cannot do anything against it.’
Though this is an international match, Bangladeshi referees conducted the game upon mutual consent.
Lankan coach was seriously upset and thumped the water bottle during the match when he saw some decision of the referee Mizanur Rahman went against them.
Mizan refused to give the marching order to Bangladesh keeper Russell Mahmud Liton for a serious challenge on Lankan captain Sanjeewa, which left the coach agape.
-With New Age input
