Teamwork outshines Tahura brace as Bangladesh sink Singapore

Forward Tahura Khatun had contemplated hanging up her boots following a lean patch but the lanky forward showcased her mettle by netting a brace in Bangladesh's convincing 3-0 win over Singapore in the first of two FIFA friendly fixtures in Kamalapur yesterday.

At Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium, defender Afeida Khandokar gave Bangladesh an early lead with a close-range header in the third minute. Tahura later provided a two-goal cushion with a placing shot in the 16th minute before putting the game to bed in the 60th minute, striking her second with an overhead shot.

"I had gone through a bad time because I was sick. I also wanted to quit football but [assistant coach Mahbubur Rahman] Litu sir gave me confidence to persevere. He also asked me to keep faith in myself. This time the coaching staff including [coach Saiful Bari] Titu sir supported a lot," said Tahura, who climbed up the hierarchy to feature in the starting eleven following injury to Krishna Rani Sarkar and the retirement of forward Sirat Jahan Swapna.

The forward proved herself in the match and she has "no regret of missing an hattrick opportunity".

"I'm rather satisfied with the build-up game the team showed today [yesterday]," said Tahura.

It was also the first win in six matches for the women in red and green since their SAFF Women's Championship triumph in September last year. The result also served as a revenge for Bangladesh, who lost to Singapore by an identical margin in 2017.

The charges of Saiful Bari Titu dominated visiting Singapore, who initially attempted to press the home side but went on the backfoot once Bangladesh grabbed control of the match through a patient build-up from the back.

Maria Manda, Monica Chakma, and Sabina Khatun were crucial in the midfield, facilitating attacks. They accelerated the tempo in the second half, producing a good number of chances but could only convert one.

"All credit goes to the players because the girls are used to playing this way, and I just worked on one aspect on how to build the game from behind rather than playing long balls. I think they showed the style of play today," said Titu, who guided the women's team in three matches against Japan, Vietnam, and Nepal during the Asian Games in China in September and October.

The former national footballer further said that Bangladesh have no room for complacency despite a big win.

"Of course, the convincing win gives the girls confidence to carry on in the next match, but we don't want to be satisfied with this winning margin, which could have been larger. We need to figure out why this happened, and we'll analyse our performance before taking on Singapore in the next match [on December 4] to keep the momentum going."