The Bhutanese Under-18 boy’s football team failed to qualify for the final of the SAFF Under-18 Championship 2019 after losing to Bangladesh 4-nil yesterday. Six South Asian nations took part in the third edition of the Championship 2019 the South Asian Football Federation hosted in Nepal.
With just a win away from reaching the final, both the teams started their game strong. But it was Bangladesh that broke the deadlock in the 16th minute.
The goal proved a crucial blow for the young dragon boys as they lost their footing after that. And to make it worse, Bhutan conceded two back-to-back goals in the 27th and the 32nd minute. Within the first 35 minutes of the game, it looked ‘game over’ for the Bhutanese side.
Bhutan returned an improved team in the second half. They launched frequent attacks and at the same time, held the young Bengal Tigers from extending their lead. Bhutan conceded the fourth goal in the dying minutes of the game.
“It was really a tough fight. Although we dominated the whole game we could not win against them because of the physical. Their physique was far better than us and also because of the muddy ground. They have much more experience than us in such kind of grounds. And although we gave our best we could not win the game, but this is not the end for us,” Tenzin Norbu, the captain of the Bhutanese team, said.
This was Bhutan’s third clash against the Bangladeshi side since the commencement of the competition in 2015, and Bhutan did not win any of the matches.
Bhutan will now play the Maldives for the third place of the Championship on Sunday.
Passang Dorji
