The Hindu : Bangladesh manages to hold Uzbekistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003

Sport

Sport - Football

Bangladesh manages to hold Uzbekistan

By S. Sabanayakan

Bangladesh goalkeeper Mohammad Prsuzzaman foiling an attempt by Uzbekistan's Shakhboz Erkinov during their JRD Tata Cup league match at Jamshedpur on Tuesday. — Photo: Sushanta Patronobish.

JAMSHEDPUR SEPT. 16. The setting was perfect for Bangladesh at the J.R.D. Tata Sports Complex. A heavy downpour for nearly 90 minutes before the start of the league match against Uzbekistan left the playing arena wet and slippery. Used to playing on such a turf back home, Bangladesh roared back to strike thrice in 10 minutes to earn a creditable 3-3 draw in the J.R.D. Tata Cup International Invitational football tournament here on Tuesday.

The result earned Bangladesh its first point of the tournament in three outings. Arguably the best equipped team skill wise, Uzbekistan was done in by the underfoot conditions it was not used to. The Uzbeks found it very difficult to keep their body balance. This resulted in the Bangladesh players controlling the ball more and moving up with short passes. Despite enjoying the lion's share in ball possession, Bangladesh lacked the clinical final pass to cause any damage in the earlier half.

Uzbekistan fought on gamely. It was not only a mature side but had all the trappings of an excellent team. The team was willing to wait for an opening, packed the defence with eight players and invariably relieved the ball before its penalty box.

During this period of ascendancy, Bangladesh mounted just one serious threat on the Uzbek goal. Left-wing midfielder Masud Alam put through a deft pass down the line for captain Mohammad Jahid Hussain Ameli to send in a tantalising centre from an acute angle. The Uzbek goalkeeper Sergey Sotnikov managed to tip it over.

Against the run of play, the Uzbeks went ahead in the 32nd minute, thanks to a defensive error by Bangladesh right-back Kayser Ahmad Rajib. Josur Boboev sent in a low centre from the right to Sobir Usmankhoajaev. The latter crashed a right-footed grounder to the near post which was well covered by the Bangladeh goalkeeper Mohammad Prsuzzaman. Rajib, in trying to clear, deflected it into his own goal.

The success galvanised Uzbekistan to greater deeds. It kept pressing for another goal which did materialise seven minutes later. A long throw-in from the left, saw the ball pitch and bounce over two Bangladesh defenders. Shakhboz Erkinov showed good opportunism to direct the ball to the far corner with a cool header.

The tale of the first half was that Bangladesh controlled the game but Uzbekistan scored two.

The game continued in the same vein. Uzbekistan opted for two changes in the second half to bolster its forward play. Finding its first half tactic of playing aerial balls to vacant areas not proving productive, the Uzbeks began to play more on the ground with shallow diagonal and triangular passes to advance. It brought success in the 64th minute as Shakhboz Umarov worked his way down the right and back-passed to Abbas Abdulayev. As the disarrayed Bangladesh defence watched, Abdulayev slotted the ball into the net. Bangladesh, having lost both the matches so far, threw caution to the wind and attacked with vigour. With its captain Ameli spearheading the attack, the team pressed hard. The crowd too backed the underdog cheering every Bangladesh attack. In a span of 10 minutes, Bangladesh bamboozled the Uzbek defence to strike in the 77th, 78th and 87th minutes.

Bangladesh earned a flag kick. Substitute Arup Kumar Baidya floated the ball tantalisingly into the box. Ameli rose above all to head in for the first goal. The second followed in the next minute. A combined move down the middle saw Ameli racing into the penalty box. The Uzbek custodian Sotnikov came sliding out to foil him almost on top of the box. The ball went loose. Anamol Hoque Sharif, who was following the ball, placed it into the unguarded goal.

The two strikes in quick succession shattered the Uzbek defence. Panic set in as the defenders cleared the ball aimlessly just to ease the pressure. This worked in favour of Bangladesh. A right wing move saw Maloy Barman weaving his way past three defenders and placing the ball to the far corner with the goalkeeper guarding the near post. The draw enabled Uzbekistan to lead the league table with five points from three games.

AFC names four match officials: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has named four match officials from India to conduct Asian Cup (group B) game between Singapore and Palestine to be played at Singapore on October 19. Kolkata's only FIFA badge referee Subrato Sarkar will be in the middle while Mrinal Kanti Roy and S. Bharat Mani will be on the line. Prabir Kumar Ghosh will be the fourth official, according to an AFC source here.

Wednesday's match: India TFA Blue vs India TFA White

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport