Defensive Pakistan stalls defending champion Bangladesh in a draw

Kathmandu, Oct. 21: Bangladesh, the defending champion, could prevent a complete upset by Pakistan thanks to a late equaliser that allowed the former champions to earn a point at the group stage of the 7th SAFF Women’s Championship at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Sunday.

Pakistan, with a goal in the 32nd minute, was leading 1-0 until the 90 minutes of regulation time, despite Bangladesh controlling most of the possession and dominating the game. Pakistan was able to convert a counter-attack into a goal after Zahmena Samin Malik found a beautiful long pass from Rameen Fareed to score past the goalkeeper, who came forth to prevent a shoot.

Staying on the defence throughout the 90 minutes, Pakistan could restrict Bangladesh from capitalising on the numerous chances they created. 

However, Pakistan, which was on a defensive seat, could not prevent the leveller in the 90+1 minutes of the six-minute added time thanks to a header by Shamsunnahar J.

Pakistan’s head coach Adeell Mirza Rizki was one of the happiest faces after the match ended as he was able to give a proper reply to the previous defeat. Two years ago, on September 10, 2022, Pakistan was defeated 6-0 by Bangladesh at the same stadium; Bangladesh then went on to defeat Nepal in the final and lift their maiden SAFF Women’s Championship.

Anmol Hira’s man-marking

While Pakistan played mostly defensively, the major setback for Bangladesh was the plan of Pakistan’s head coach Rizki to deploy Anmol Hira to man-mark Bangladeshi skipper Sabina Khatun from the beginning to the end. 

Khatun was relieved for a few minutes when Hira, with a minor injury in her gum, was outside to stop bleeding in the 65th minute; except that, Khatun´s movement was almost completely restricted. Without any choice left, Khatun was subbed off in the 70th minute. Hira then started marking Srimoti Krishnarani Sarkar, who was handed the captain´s armband. 

“I waited two years for this. I had seen Khatun score a hat trick against us in the last edition. Hira did her job so well that Khatun had to be subbed off,” said Rizki in the post-match conference.Bangladesh’s head coach, Peter James Butler, also expressed that he had to replace Khatun in the 70th minute for tactical changes to the gameplay. 

According to Rizki, Pakistan will be eagerly waiting for the results of the India-Bangladesh fixture on October 23 as they want to be a part of the tournament till the end.

Bangladesh looks forward

Bangladesh had a lot of chances despite their skipper Khatun being marked persistently. The missed chances were a result of a lack of players on the receiving end to shoot, shots outside the frame (including one prevented by the crossbar) and Pakistan’s goalie making some exceptional saves. 

Moreover, Bangladesh’s goalie and defenders also made some good saves and tackles to prevent Pakistan from extending the lead, a situation that Bangladesh would not have liked. 

“I have played and coached in over 1,000 matches throughout the globe but I had never been in a state where a team dominates so much in possession but cannot score. Yet, I am happy with the players as they gave their best. They played quality football,” said Butler, who once played for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.   

While Pakistan’s group-stage campaign concluded with the match against Bangladesh, India and Bangladesh have a final encounter remaining in their group. “And we are looking forward to the match against India. We will be making plans for the game because we want to move forward,” said Butler.