Forward Tahura Khatun had considered retiring after a rough stretch, but the lanky forward proved her worth by scoring twice in Bangladesh’s 3-0 triumph over Singapore in the first of two FIFA friendly matches in Kamalapur yesterday.
In the third minute at Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium, defender Afeida Khandokar gave Bangladesh an early lead with a close-range header. Tahura added a two-goal advantage with a placement shot in the 16th minute before putting the game away with an overhead shot in the 60th minute.
“I was going through a rough patch because I was sick.” I had considered quitting football as well, but [assistant coach Mahbubur Rahman] Litu sir encouraged me to stay. He also asked me to believe in myself. This time, the coaching staff, notably [coach Saiful Bari] Titu sir, helped a lot,” said Tahura, who rose through the ranks to replace Krishna Rani Sarkar, who was injured, and forward Sirat Jahan Swapna, who retired.
The attacker performed admirably in the game, and she had “no regrets about missing a hattrick opportunity.”
“I’m rather satisfied with the build-up game the team showed today [yesterday],” Tahura stated in a statement.
It was also the women in red and green’s first win in six matches since winning the SAFF Women’s Championship in September of last year. The outcome also served as retaliation for Bangladesh, which lost to Singapore by the same score in 2017.
Saiful Bari Titu’s charges dominated visiting Singapore, who attempted to press the home side but fell behind once Bangladesh took control of the encounter with a careful build-up from the back.
In the midfield, Maria Manda, Monica Chakma, and Sabina Khatun were instrumental in aiding assaults. They upped the speed in the second half, creating numerous chances but only converting one.
“I just worked on one aspect of how to build the game from behind rather than playing long balls, and all credit goes to the players because the girls are used to playing this way.” “I think they demonstrated the style of play today,” said Titu, who coached the women’s squad in three Asian Games matches in China in September and October against Japan, Vietnam, and Nepal.
Despite their tremendous triumph, Bangladesh, according to the former national footballer, cannot afford to be complacent.
“Of course, the convincing win gives the girls confidence to continue in the next match, but we don’t want to be satisfied with this narrow victory, which could have been larger.” We need to figure out why this happened, and we’ll assess our performance before the next encounter [on December 4] against Singapore to keep the momentum going.”