Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Thimphu: Chencho Gyeltshen scored twice and missed a penalty while Jigme Tshering Dorjee was also on target as Bhutan secured a historic place in the final round of qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after recording a 3-1 win over Bangladesh in Monday’s play-off second leg.
Bhutan took the lead after just four minutes at Changlimithang Stadium as defender Jigme Tshering Dorjee headed home from a corner before Chencho Gyeltshen added a second midway through the first half with a header of his own.
Captain Mamunul Islam did pull a goal back for the visitors with a free-kick just after the hour mark, but after Chencho Gyeltshen restored the advantage soon after with a rasping drive before missing from the spot, Bhutan secured their place in the 24-team final qualifying round after sealing a 3-1 win on aggregate following the goalless draw between the pair in Dhaka last month.
The final round of qualifiers for the 24-team 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates offers a total of 12 places in the final and begins in March next year, while Bangladesh will now feature in next month’s AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia.
“We are all very happy with the result,” said Bhutan coach Torsten Spittler. “I think a lot of things went right. We were prepared and we knew about the way Bangladesh would play, with a lot of high balls and we trained for that.
“There was probably a bit of luck, but we were using these situations. We could have scored many more goals in the first half and the second half. I told the players there might situations when they come again in the stress situations, but we had a little bit of luck as it didn’t go to 2-2.
“We tried to play and keep the ball on the ground. Our players followed the match plan much better this time. In Bangladesh it was 30 minutes, today it was probably 90 minutes except for 10 minutes after the goal and it was a stupid goal. There are young players and they should learn from it. They could have helped me get less grey hair by getting more goals. But it was a good match for the spectators.”
The hosts made an electric start with their wing play and long balls creating havoc in the Bangladesh defence and Chencho Gyeltshen and Jigme Tshering Dorjee both tested Bangladesh goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana inside the opening minutes.
And Bhutan opened the scoring soon after as Rana was beaten to a right wing corner on the edge of the six-yard area by Jigme Tshering Dorjee, who headed home.
The home side continued to dominate and deservedly doubled their advantage after 26 minutes with Rana again at fault as the visiting custodian rushed from his goal only to fail to collect Nima Wangdi’s long ball forward and Chencho Gyeltshen headed into the unguarded net.
And while Rana was having an evening to forget, opposite number Hari Gurung, continued his superb form from the first leg with a save to deny Topu Barman six minutes later.
But Hari Gurung was finally beaten three minutes after the hour mark as Islam’s free-kick from out on the far touchline bounced through a crowded penalty area and into the back of net to give Bangladesh hope.
Bhutan substitute Sampa Tshering missed a glorious chance to restore the advantage 10 minutes later before Bangladesh replacement Jahid Hasan Ameli stabbed a cross straight at home goalkeeper Hari Gurung.
But Bhutan added a third with 14 minutes remaining as Chencho Gyeltshen rifled home from the edge of the penalty area.
Chencho Gyeltshen did see his 78th minute penalty saved by Rana following a handball to miss out on a hat-trick, but it only slightly delayed the wild celebrations from the 8,000 crowd at the full-time whistle.
“I’m still shocked,” said Bangladesh coach Tom Saintfiet. “I don’t know if I should protect the players because I think the first two goals were from huge mistakes, unacceptable mistakes. We gave presents to Santa Claus. The goalkeeper and central defender made catastrophic mistakes. It was my fault, I selected these players.
“It was very bad for Bangladesh football. I think Bhutan showed that, despite being a small nation, with good fundamentals and hard work you can still reach somewhere. I think some well-paid Bangladesh players should start thinking if they are ready to play at this level. I would like to apologise to the Bangladesh Football Federation and all the football-loving people.”