A 10-MAN Bangladesh rallied well to deny higher-ranked opponents India a win in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship at the National Football Stadium in Male, the Maldives, on Monday (4).
The match ended 1-1 after Yeasin Arafat equalised for Bangladesh in the 74th minute after India captain Sunil Chhetri scored in the 26th minute to put the Blue Tigers ahead. It was Chhetri’s 76th international goal, putting him among the top 10 in the world.
The draw means Bangladesh remained at the top of the points table with four points from two games with a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in the opening game on Friday (1). India, who are ranked third at the moment, will take on Sri Lanka in the next game on October 7.
Bangladesh lost a crucial man in Biswanath Ghosh, who was shown the red card in the 54th minute of the game for pulling back Liston Colaco who was clear to have a dash at the Bangladeshi goal.
Reports said the performance in the Bangladesh game might add to the pressure on India coach Igor Stimac as speculation was doing the rounds that if seven-time champions India failed to succeed in this SAFF Championship, the Croatian might lose the job.
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