Bangladesh confident ahead of Australia clash
Chonburi, September 16: Bangladesh faces Australia in the last match of group B in the AFC U16 Women’s Championship 2017 at the Institute of Physical Education Stadium, Chonburi, Thailand at 5:00 pm BDST on Sunday.
With both the teams losing their previous two matches against North Korea and Japan respectively, the final group game has become nothing but a battle of pride.
Bangladesh lost to Korea and Japan 9-0 and 3-0 while Australia conceded 7-0 and 5-0 losses respectively.
However, Bangladesh coach Golam Rabnani Choton accepts the reality. “The greatest experience gathered here is the is the experience of top level football. We are still a lot behind and there is no disgrace in admitting that. However, I think that we were not in the our normal shape in the first match. We improved in the second match and we want to continue the trend against Australia.”
“We did not come here to win the title. What we wanted to show was Bangladesh is an improving side. In the last match, we have to prove that with another good performance. The girls have now adapted more with the conditions and I hope that they will play their normal game again. There is no pressure. We just want to finish the campaign on a good note,” added Choton.
Comparing Australia to his side, Choton kept the Aussies ahead. “Australia is no less strong than the other two teams of the group. They may have lost the two matches they played but in comparison to us, the infrastructure of Australian football, their skill level and the preparation is well above us. However, we are not worried about it. We just want give our best and I am sure that it would be an exciting match. Japan played with short passes, Australia have a different style. We have seen their matches and chalked up the plans accordingly,” stated the coach.
Talking about the physical aspect of the game, Choton said, “The average height of the Australian players are better than us and we are aware of it. We have some quick players in Krishna, Swapna, Monika and Mousumi. We created a couple of chances with quick counter attacks against Japan. We will try to do the same against Australia.”
Meanwhile, skipper Krishna Rani wanted to start from where they have finished. “The match against Japan have restored the confidence in the team. Australia is a good team but we believe in ourselves. We will try our best to prove our capabilities,” said Krishna.
