Tigers edged by Qatar

Reigning Asian champions Qatar overcame a heavy ground and some brave football of Bangladesh as they came out 2-0 winners in their FIFA-AFC joint qualifiers match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Thursday.

Despite languishing at the bottom half of official rankings and lacking any special talent, Bangladesh made some strong efforts to scare Qatar in both halves only to leave the field without any reward for their endeavors.

Qatar’s Yusuf Abdurisag used a defensive lapse in the 28th minute to open the scoring after Bangladesh managed to frustrate the side for the best part of first-half with their spirited show on a rain-soaked pitch.

Midfielder Salim Al Hajri provided a cross from the right side that found Yusuf unmarked in the left corner of the box and the 20-year old forward Al Arabi made no mistake to score with a powerful drive.

Bangladesh got exactly the kind of weather they wanted for the match as continuous drizzle in Dhaka since late afternoon made the ground too heavy to allow Qatar, who beat Japan 3-1 in the final to be crowned Asian champions earlier this year, play their natural game.

It encouraged the charges of Jamie Day to go forward with counter-attacks, forcing at least two corners early into the first-half, giving an indication of what to come next. 

The visiting side looked particularly vulnerable with the long throw-ins of Rayhan Hasan, who replaced suspended Bishwanath Ghosh for the game and made an impact with his unmatched throwing skills.

Bangladesh also managed to leave Qatar defence off-guard with their sporadic moves that nearly earned them the equaliser three minutes from the break as midfielder Biplo Ahmed and defender Rahmat Mia nearly scored.

The successive attempts of Bangladesh duo after a corner from captain Jamal Bhuiyan were cleared by goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb and last defender Abdul Karim Hasan respectively, which helped Qatar to go to the break with a 1-0 lead.

In presence of some 15,000 fans, who braved the rain to flock to the ground after many years, Bangladesh looked highly inspired as they took a bold approach in the second half despite the near miss to keep Qatar always on their feet. 

The home side came close to scoring again in the 71st to 74th minutes only to be denied by Qatar defenders.

In the 71st minute, Jamal’s powerful shot from inside the box was cleared by Qatari midfielder Bassam Hussam Al Rawi at the expense of a corner before Qatar keeper Saad punched the ball away to deny Jamal again in the next minute.

Biplo missed the chance in the 74th minute as his shot from inside the box went high after a cross by Rayhan Hasan from the left side.

Bangladesh conceded the second goal in the stoppage time of the second half against the run of play as midfielder Karim Boudiaf scored from the goalmouth melee with a left footed grounder to help the visitors leave the field with a convincing win.

Bangladesh will take on India in their next game in Kolkata on October 15.