Bd: 1 - Afgan 0
We won!!!
We won!!!
We won!!!
We won!!!
We won!!!
We won!!!
We won!!!
Booters stun Afghanistan
Anisur Rahman from Incheon, South Korea
A goalmouth action during yesterday's Asian Games football match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at the Munhak Stadium in Incheon in South Korea. PHOTO: ANISUR RAHMAN
Bangladesh got off to a brilliant start in the Asian Games as they stunned South Asian powerhouse Afghanistan 1-0 in their Group B opener at the Munhak Stadium in Incheon, South Korea yesterday.
Captain Mamunul Islam struck the decisive goal in the 83rd minute of the match to give Bangladesh their first win in 28 years and only their third win overall in the Games' history. The win brightened the prospects of qualifying for the 16-team second round for Bangladesh, who will play against group-favourites Uzbekistan on September 18 and Hong Kong on September 22.
Mamunul, who recently signed for Atletico de Kolkata franchise in the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), scored the decisive goal with a powerful left-footed drive from outside the box to beat the Afghan goalkeeper Mansur Faqiryar at his near post, after a counter-attack initiated by Tapu Barman found Mamunul at the end of a string of passes.
The goal ushered wild celebrations for Bangladesh players, who were dominated for much of the game by the Afghans,
sitting 41 places above Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings and boasting as many as seven players playing in Europe. There was a reflection of the difference in quality in the match statistics. The Afghans enjoyed 66 per cent of possession, managed four shots on target to Bangladesh's three, earned eight corner kicks to Bangladesh's two and five free-kicks to Bangladesh's two. But in the end, the one statistic that matters the most in football was in Bangladesh's favour.
Bangladesh started the game with a cautious defensive approach with Denmark-based Jamal Bhuiyan playing as defensive midfielder ahead of a four-man backline, while midfielders Shohel Rana, Yousuf Sifat, Mamunul Islam and Hemanta Vincent played behind lone striker Wahed Ahmed.
The young Bangladesh defenders were put under a lot of pressure by the well-built Afghans, who saw a diving header from Amiruddin go inches wide of the near post in the sixth minute while another one from Ahmed Sanjir in the 23rd minute flew over the crossbar.
Bangladesh's only notable attack came from a counter-attack in the 27th minute when Sohel Rana's long ball reached Wahed, who took too much time to finish the move and invited the Afghan defenders to clear the danger.
Bangladesh, who were relatively more composed in defending, passing and attacking in the second half, survived another scare in the 49th minute, thanks to an excellent save from goalkeeper Rasel Mahmud Liton.
Another counter-attack in the 70th minute, initiated by Hemanta, found Wahed outside the box, but the stocky forward was too slow to shrug off his marker and his shot was well intercepted by the Afghan defenders.
But 14 minutes later, when Tapu's ball reached Wahed, he made no mistake as he teed up the ball with a back pass to his skipper Mamunul, who found the back of the net with a low drive.
There was still time for a few more Afghan onslaughts, but the two Bangladesh centre-backs Yeamin Munna and Yeasin Khan ensured that there were no further hiccups by clearing a couple of late corners.
With the clock ticking towards the last few seconds of the four added minutes, Bangladesh almost struck a second goal when Jamal attempted a long shot from almost the half-way line, with the opposition goalie out of his box. But his shot crawled inches away from the target. However, that miss was not going to dampen the mood of the Bangladesh players and scores of Bangladeshi expatriates as Vietnamese referee Vo Minh Tri blew the final whistle.
BANGLADESH TEAM: Rasel Mahmud Liton (GK); Yeasin Khan, Rayhan Hasan, Tapu Barman, Yeamin Munna; Jamal Bhuiyan, Mamunul Islam, Hemanta Vincent, Shohel Rana, Yousuf Sifat (Toklish Ahmed); Wahed Ahmed (Atiqur Rahman Farhad)