Bangladesh go down 3-0 to Uzbekistan

Jakarta: Bangladesh Olympic team lost their first preliminary round match of the Asian Games 2018 against Uzbekistan at the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor on Tuesday. The Red and Greens fought hard but ultimately went down 3-0 to a much superior side. Uzbekistan, who won the AFC U23 Championship in January, took the lead in the 23rd minute when Urinboev Zabikhillo headed home from a handshaking distance after neat cross of Ikromjon Alibaev from right corner of the box. Bangladesh defended valiantly for the remainder of the first half but Ravshan Khaydarov’s charges found their second in the 57th minute with Dostonbek Khamdamov their scorer. That was soon followed by the third, with Ikromjon Alibaev’s effort sealing the three points in the 66th minute. Bangladesh fought well with the 1994 Asiad gold medallists and eye-catching saves from goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana kept the spirit of the players high. In his post-match reaction, head coach Jamie Day said, “I’m pleased with the performance of the boys tonight. They have technically better players than us who can create chances and score. But our players showed fantastic work rate and attitude.” He praised the whole group of players stating the team’s good performance as a whole and not any individual. Talking about his target for the next game, Jamie said, “We need to try and get some points from the match. That’s always the aim.” Bangladesh will take on Thailand their second match on Thursday.
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