Bangladesh suffered its second successive defeat in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers as they lost to Turkmenistan 1-2 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday.
Bangladesh fought hard against Turkmenistan, who are 54 ranks above Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings, as they kept the score 1-1 till the 77th minute.
But Arslanmyrat Amanow crushed Bangladesh’s hopes of earning their first points in the campaign with a simple tap in from the goalmouth.
Turkmenistan were the favourites in the clash and they got off the blocks in the game very quickly, putting Bangladesh under tremendous pressure from the start.
Inside the first seven minutes, Turkmenistan earned four corners. Bangladesh managed to thwart the first three ones but on the fourth corner Altymyrat Annadurdyyew found the back of the net.
Bangladesh responded well after conceding an early goal. Just four minutes after going a goal down, forward Mohammad Ibrahim equalised for Bangladesh with a fierce header.
Both teams had some chances for the rest of the first half but failed to convert.
After the break, Turkmenistan took further control over the match, initiating a number of attacks while Bangladesh played with a more defensive approach.
While Turkmenistan got more chances to score, Bangladesh also had their moments in front of Turkeminstan’s goal. But forwards from both teams were not clinical as a lot of chances went begging.
But Turkmenistan finally got their goal in the 77th minute to crush Bangladesh’s hearts.
Bangladesh had a golden chance to equalise at the very end of regular time. Skipper Jamal Bhuyan’s free kick floated over the Turkmenistan defence and landed in front of three Bangladesh players. But the shot on goal was way off target.
With the defeat, Bangladesh are at the bottom of the four-team Group E table. They had earlier lost to Bahrain by 0-2.
Bangladesh will play their final group-stage match against Malaysia at the same venue on 14 June.