Nehru Cup: Bangladesh Held By Cambodia

A late strike by Keo Kosal helped Cambodia come from behind and secure a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in the seventh match of the Nehru Cup international football tournament here Wednesday.

Bangladesh opened scoring in the 30th minute after a fine header from Mohammed Abul Hossain from a corner kick by Mohammed Alfaz Ahmed, but the sure win slipped out of their hand in the dying minutes as Kosal cleared in a good pass in the box to split the points.

After taking the lead, Bangladesh looked like a winning lot and came very close to score on quite a few occasions but failed to convert them, which ultimately proved crucial in the end.

Cambodia, who went down fighting 3-4 to higher-ranked Kyrgyzstan in their last match, failed to repeat the same performance, which if executed well, could have earned them a win. They got a chance in the 70th minute of the game but Om Tharak's long ranger from 30 yards was brilliantly saved by Bangladesh goalie Biplab Bhattacharjee.

With 10 minutes from time, Bangladesh got an easy chance but Mohammed Jahid Hasan Ameli's header struck the upright. Mohammed Ariful Islam's floater from the right side of the box found Ameli's head but unfortunately hit the post and the chance went begging.

But the lady luck smiled for Cambodia in the final moments of the game with Kosal firing in the equaliser. Sam El Nasa, who came in as a substitute in the 67th minute, dribbled past three defenders and from thee back-line gave an acute angle pass to unmarked Kosal, who slotted in to bring parity.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Biplab Bhattacharjee (goalkeeper), Firoj Mahmud Hossain, Mohammed Waly Faisal, Rajani Kanta Barman, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Mohammed Ariful Islam, Arman Aziz, Mohammed Jahid Hasan Ameli, Mohammed Alfaz Ahmed (Mohammed Robin, 57, {Mehdi Hasan, 82}), Mohammed Zahid Hossain

Cambodia: Pich Rovenyothin (goalkeeper), Chan Dara, Kim Chan Bonrith, Om Thavrak, Chan Rithy, Teab Vathanak, Sun Sovannariyth (Sam El Nasa, 67), Sam Minar (Keo Kosal, 81), Hok Sottiya (Chan Chaya, 58), Pok Chan Than, Tieng Tiny

Referee: A. Arjunan (India)