Fumble proves costly as U-20s fall to Nepal

Bangladesh struggled to recover after a costly fumble by goalkeeper and captain Mehedi Hasan Srabon led to the first goal in their 2-1 defeat to Nepal in a SAFF U-20 Championship fixture in Lalitpur on Thursday, coach Maruful Haque said.

The defeat in the second match -- mirroring their losses to Nepal in 2015 and 2017 -- meant Bangladesh finished as Group A runners-up, and they now face a strong possibility of encountering the reigning champions in the semi-finals as India need a draw against Maldives in today's encounter to become Group B champions.

However, Maruful remains optimistic about going all the way in the tournament.

"We lost to Nepal, but we have not lost the championship. If we want to become champions, we have to beat everyone, and we have no choice but to face any team in the semi-final," said Maruful at the post-match conference.

With both teams having already secured semi-final berths, Bangladesh adopted a counter-attacking strategy at ANFA Complex with the objective of at least securing a draw to overtake Nepal in the points table.

However, the home side took the lead in the 17th minute after the advancing goalkeeper Mehedi failed to intercept Nepal's clearance in midfield, leading to forward Samir Tamang snatching the ball from his feet and slotting into open net.

One minute later, Bangladesh conceded again, with Niranjan Dhami doubling the lead with a near-post finish from Abinash Syangtan's low cross.

"Our plan was to allow them to come into the attack in the first 10 minutes, as Nepal needed to score if they wanted to become group champions, but conceding the first goal brought the players' morale down and they could not bounce back for the rest of the match," said Maruful, adding that even world-class goalkeepers concede goals in such a manner.

Trailing by two goals, coach Maruful showed urgency with his substitutions, bringing on forwards Mirajul Islam and Asadul Molla in the 32nd minute. Bangladesh pulled one back when Mirajul converted from the spot in the 43rd minute after being tackled but failed to cash in on the momentum later.