BD lose to Singapore
Bangladesh failed to secure a victory in the FIFA ASEAN Cup. After losing 3-0 to Malaysia in their opening Group-A match on September 25 , the ‘Red and Green’ out-fit suffered a 1-0 defeat to Singapore in their second Group-A game at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday.
Consequently, having lost two consecutive matches, Thomas Dooley’s charges now face the threat of elimination from the Group-A stage.
Bangladesh displayed impressive dominance early in the match. During the first 15 minutes, Rakib Hossain and Shuki Itofusa repeatedly pressured the Singaporean defense.
In the 15th minute, Rakib broke into the penalty area and attempted to pass to a teammate, but no other Bangladeshi player was in position to receive the ball.
Bangladesh’s Shamit Shome received the first yellow card of the match just six minutes after starting the match.
The referee cautioned him for pulling back Zulkifli. Singapore earned two quick corners in the 16th minute.
Following the second corner, Bangladeshi goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon successfully dealt with an attempt by Ilhan Fandi.
Srabon rescued Bangladesh from danger in the 33rd minute by brilliantly saving a free-kick taken from just outside the penalty area.
Tariq Kazi subsequently cleared the ball to safety area. Bangladesh conceded a goal just two minutes later.
In the 35th minute, Stewart headed in a cross delivered by Abdullah Noor from the left flank, beating Srabon and putting Singapore in the lead (1-0).
Immediately after the goal, Singapore had a chance to double their advantage.
In the 37th minute, a shot from the right struck the crossbar and rebounded back into play.
Although Bangladesh held the majority of possession in the first half, they failed to register a single shot on target. In contrast, Singapore took five shots, four of which were on target.
In the second half, Bangladesh pushed hard in search of an equaliser, launching attacks right from the start, but the goal remained elusive.
Despite mounting repeated attacks until the final minute, they could not find the net. Meanwhile, Singapore also failed to score again in the second half. Thus, the match ended with a 1-0 scoreline.
Following this defeat, Bangladesh Stood at the bottom of the points table, having failed to secure any points from two matches.
Malaysia took the top spot with 3 points from a single match, while Indonesia and Singapore occupy the second and third positions, respectively, with 3 points each from their respective two matches.
Jamal Bhuyan’s team will face Indonesia in their last Group-A match at the same venue on October 1. The match will kick-off at 6:30pm.
