Booters leave with heads held high

The Bangladesh under-23 football team's historic run in the 2018 Asian Games came to an end with a 3-1 defeat against North Korea at the Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Bekasi yesterday.

The men in red and green, who created a piece of history by reaching the competition's knockout round for the very first time, might have been outplayed but they certainly were not humiliated by the side who finished second in the last Asian Games and ranks 86 places higher at the international stage. They were on the receiving end of a couple of harsh decisions, but those decisions failed to stifle their resolve to fight till the end.

The defeat caps off a campaign, which started with a 3-0 defeat and ended with a 3-1 defeat but had a lot to take heart from, especially with the way they held Thailand to a draw before snatching a historic victory against Qatar.

North Korea started the game briskly and almost got the opening goal in the 10th minute when Kim Kuk Bom's curling freekick found Kim Yu Song free inside the box but the prolific centre-forward's touch on the bouncing ball took it above the bar.

However, it took only two more minutes for Song to make amends as he made no mistake from the spot after Bangladesh right-back Shushanto Tripura was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box while trying to clear the ball. The decision, made after insistence from the linesman, was questionable and it set the tone for the match, with the North Koreans trying to consolidate the lead for the remaining time.

Bangladesh threatened the North Korean goal in the 32nd minute when Fahad's floating freekick was headed inches over the crossbar by defender Kim Nam Il. However, Jamie Day's charges conceded the second goal six minutes later, with Han Young Thae slotting one into the top of the net after a long exchange of passes lead up to a nice one-two between Young Thae and Kim Nam Il.

The third goal, coming at the 69th minute, was a result of Bangladesh's poor defence, which had stood valiantly throughout the whole competition. The move started when Tripura's poor clearance fell to So Jong Hyok, who dribbled past a week effort from Topu Barman before squaring it back to Kang Kuk Chol, who needed only to stab it into the back of the net.

The men in red and green showed tremendous resolve to launch a few attacks in the last 10 minutes of the match and they were rewarded for their efforts in the 91st minute. Substitute Rabiul Hasan's cross floated to the middle of the box and the opposition goalkeeper failed to reach it before Saad Uddin took the chance with a wonderful volley past a host of defenders. Bangladesh, in fact, could have ended with more from the game had Rabiul been able to keep his header on target a few minutes later when another substitute, Jafar Iqbal, delivered a brilliant cross from the left. But it was, nonetheless, a morale-boosting effort.

BANGLADESH: Rana; Topu, Badsha, Bishwanath, Shushanto; Jamal, Fahad, Johnny (Abdullah), Saad, Biplo (Jafar); Sufil (Robiul).