Nine scored but Butler urges 'more clinical' Bangladesh

Bangladesh head coach Peter Butler lamented his team's finishing despite a resounding 9-1 victory over Sri Lanka in their opening match of the SAFF U-20 Women's Championship at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Thursday.
Mosammat Sagorika, one of nine senior national team members included in the squad, led the way with a hattrick. Munki Akter scored twice, while Shikha Jahan, Rupa Akter, Sapna Rani, and Shanti Mardi added one each. Layansika Jasotharan netted a late consolation goal for Sri Lanka.
"I thought we could have been more clinical with our finishing," Butler said during the post-match press conference. "I just felt we were a little bit wasteful. I gave a few players opportunities to play. Some, in my opinion, did very well. Some of the others maybe not as good."
Just a week ago, Butler guided the senior team to a historic qualification for the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Myanmar. Several players from that side featured in yesterday's match, and their confidence and experience was evident as Bangladesh scored twice in the opening five minutes. However, the team managed only one more goal before halftime. The second half saw a more dominant display as they added six more.
"To me, the most important thing was I was just looking at a few combinations, and it gave me an opportunity to try out a few different players," Butler said. "I thought Shanti [Mardi] came on and was outstanding. I thought we looked a little bit laboured, but that's understandable coming back from a long trip. Really not having a lot of time to prepare, but that's no excuse. There's no excuse for sloppiness."
The match was played on a rain-soaked pitch, and Butler acknowledged the challenging conditions, relieved as none of his players got injured. Bangladesh faced similar conditions in the Asian Cup qualifiers in Myanmar due to torrential rain but the pitches there fared better.
"The pitch didn't help. The pitch was very heavy. Obviously nobody's fault. But yeah, to score nine goals and still be disappointed to concede the solitary goal at the end, which was a little bit sloppy on our behalf. But just relieved we've come through unscathed with no injuries," he added.
Bangladesh will face Nepal, who beat Bhutan 6-1 in the day's other match, in their second match tomorrow at the same venue.
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