Peter Butler satisfied, not Monika & Co

While Bangladesh coach Peter Butler heaped massive praise on his charges and rued luck for not getting a win against Pakistan in their opening match of SAFF Women's Championship on Sunday, team's key midfielder Monika Chakma said the players were not happy at all with their performance.

Monika, who got the player of the match award as Bangladesh salvaged a 1-1 draw through a stoppage-time goal from Shamsunnahar Jr, said they were fearing for the worst after having trailed by a goal for so long.

"We got behind early against Pakistan. We were scared even regarding the end result. The players aren't satisfied with the result," Monika said in a video message sent by the Bangladesh Football Federation on Monday.

The coach's decision to field young players while keeping seniors like Maria Manda, Masura Parvin, and Sanjida Akter on bench surprised all as the defending champions failed to display their regular fluent football in their opening match at the Dasharath Satdium in Kathmandu.

The absence of Maria was especially felt, the central midfielder having been a key figure in Bangladesh's team for a long time. Maria's partnership in the middle of the pitch was an assurance for the team in many competitions, including the triumphant one in Kathmandu two years ago.

Maria was introduced later in place of Monika as Bangladesh searched for an equalising goal. Although Monika did not say anything on camera regarding the coach's decision to bench so many senior players, she did say that they didn't share the coach's satisfaction.

"The head coach may be happy with this result and performance, but we are not because we beat them by 5-0, 6-0, 7-0 margins in past meetings (age-level and senior matches)," Monika added.