Seven goals, plenty to fix

Bangladesh began their Under-20 Women’s Asia Cup challenger pool campaign by thrashing Chinese Taipei 7-0 on Saturday, but the huge victory still left the team feeling they had plenty of room for improvement.

Young Tigresses dominated possession from the start but struggled to convert their chances in the opening two quarters. Kona Akter finally broke the deadlock with a field goal in the second quarter.

Bangladesh then shifted into top gear after half-time, scoring four times in a frantic third quarter. Emma Nadira and Airin Akter Ria both struck twice to put the result beyond doubt.

Captain Rimon Sarika completed the rout in the final quarter, scoring twice from penalty corners to seal a convincing opening victory.

Despite the dominant scoreline, head coach Arif Ali was quick to highlight his side’s early shortcomings.

“I am happy we got the win and three points, but we had high expectations for this game,” Ali said. “In the first two quarters, we created enough chances, but our finishing was a little bit weak, and the connection between the forwards was missing.

“We could have been five or six goals up by half-time. We regrouped, and you could see the connection in the second half. I am happy that we progressed during the game.”

Player of the match Airin Akter Ria echoed her coach’s assessment, admitting Bangladesh operated at only around 60 per cent of their potential.

“The match was actually tough,” Ria said. “If we had stuck to our basics, we would have scored much earlier. We made a lot of mistakes at first, but thankfully we managed to bounce back later.”

Zahid Hossain Razu, who built the squad in Bangladesh before Ali took charge, was pleased to see the players eventually execute their plans.

“Chinese Taipei is a relatively good team in our group. The girls gave everything and completely followed the instructions we discussed in our video meetings. That is why this 7-0 success came,” Razu said.

Razu is now targeting the top spot in the group, with Bangladesh set to face Kazakhstan, Hong Kong and Pakistan.

“If the girls can keep playing like they did today, we will be champions of this group,” he said.

Young Bangladesh women will take on Pakistan in their second match on Sunday. Pakistan began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Hong Kong.

Also, after Friday’s 3-2 defeat against the hosts, China, Bangladesh men’s U-20 will face Malaysia for their second match on the same day.