Bangladesh national team drew 1-all with Thai club Air Force United FC in the first friendly match at Dhupatemiya Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday afternoon.
The Red and Greens went into the match with positive intent and it paid dividends very quickly.
Biplu Ahmed drew first blood for Bangladesh just four minutes into the match.
However, a defensive mistake meant that Chuii Deh could cancel out Bangladesh’s lead in the 16th minute.
Bangladesh created some more chances but failed to convert any of them.
Even though it was a draw, Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day found many positives in the performance of his boys.
“I’m pleased with the performance today. The boys did really well; worked hard in both halves. And deservedly took the lead,” said Jamie.
“A little bit disappointed with the goal. But the shape was good and it was a good workout for both halves. Pleased to come out of the game with no injuries. Now, looking forward to the next match and training coming up,” added the Briton.
On the other hand, Bangladesh goal scorer Biplu Ahmed also sees the performance positively given the team played the friendly match after quite some time.
“The Air Force team played really well. We also made some mistakes here and there. Nonetheless, we did come out with a 1-all draw,” said Biplu.
Biplu also expressed his confidence of overcoming the mistakes against Laos.
“We did miss some chances. However, we’ll look to amend the mistakes against Laos,” he said.
Biplu also observed that the team combination will get better over the next few days through intensive training.
“We’ll gel together better with training and we do have another friendly match here. I’m confident that we’ll be fully prepared for the Laos game and come home with a victory, God willing,” said Biplu.
Team Bangladesh will resume training Wednesday morning before squaring off against BG Pathum United FC in the second and last friendly match of the Thailand camp on June 1.
