Bangladesh clinch Mujib Barsho series

Sports Live; Bangladesh claimed the two-match Mujib Barsho FIFA Tier-1 International friendly series against Nepal as their second match ended in a goalless draw at Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) on Tuesday.

The men in red and green beat the touring side by 2-0 goals in the first match to take 1-0 lead in series at the same venue on Friday. Forward Nabib Newaz Ziban and substitute forward Mahbubur Rahman Sufil scored one each for the winning side.

However, Bangladesh got a big blow a day before the game as the head coach Jamie Day tested positive for COVID-19 in the second test. The team appeared on the pitch under the supervision of acting head coach and assistant coach Stuart Watkiss.

Both sides made changes in their respective playing elevens. In Bangladesh team, veteran goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana came in the place of Anisur Rahman Zico and defender Yeasin Khan replaced Riyadul Hasan.

On the other hand, the touring side Nepal put Arik Bista, Ranjit Dhimal, Tshring Gurung, Darsan Gurung and Bharat Khawas came in place of Ajit Bhandari, Ravishankar Paswan, Suman Aryal, Nawayug Paswan and Bikram Lama respectively.  

At BNS on Tuesday, both teams tried to dominate each other from the beginning of the match. In the 20th minute, forward Ziban was smartly denied by Nepal goalkeeper Kiran Limbu.

After four minutes, another forward Sumon Reza shot off target from outside of the box.Bangladeshi strikers got several more chances to open account in the first half, but all their efforts went in vain. Forward Sumon and Saad Uddin failed to connect the ball in the 28th and 31st minutes respectively.

In the second half, both teams started to play aggressively but remained goalless. Defender Bishwanath Ghosh missed the target in the 51st minute while Nepal substitute forward Nawayug Paswan hit the post just a few minutes before final whistle.

Midway into the second half, an adolescent Bangladeshi fan, named Hasib, breached the security cordon to click a selfie with captain Jamal Bhuiyan. Jamal was seen trying to avoid the fan's hug while the security personnel pulled him away.

Bangladesh made three substitutions in the day’s match as Mahbubur Rahman Sufil replaced Reza, Biplo Ahmed replaced Manik Molla and Sohel Rana replaced Md Ibrahim while Nepal made five as Nawayug replaced captain Bharat Khawas, Sesehang Angdember replaced Darsan Gurung, Ravishankar Paswas replaced Anjan Bista, Bimal Rana replaced Sujal Shrestha and Pujan Uperkoti replaced Tej Tamang.

After the match, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Youth and Sports Abdullah Al Islam Jakob distributed prizes as the chief guest in a closing ceremony.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) President Kazi Md Slahuddin and other executive committee members were also present there. Forward Mahbubur Rahman Sufil adjudged the most valuable player of the tournament. 

In his immediate reaction, Bangladesh Acting Head Coach Watkiss said, “It was a difficult match, Nepal played very well tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t create chances. However, these matches will help massively ahead of the Qatar game.

Players haven’t played for seven or eight months. It is such a long time to go without football. Two games obviously proved very worthwhile.”

Nepal head coach, Bal Gopal Maharjan said, “The preparation was short. I really appreciate my boys and am thankful to them for this result. I appreciate their performance. It was better than the first match. Bangladesh team were also good.”

Dhaka, 17 November (campuslive24.com)//AIT