Jordan punish woeful booters

Bangladesh remain bottom of Group B with a single point in their World Cup-Asian Cup qualifying campaign after a 4-0 defeat against Jordan, where the hosts were left to rue defensive lapses and some glaring errors in front of goal. The men in red, who came back from Australia with a 'respectable' 4-0 defeat, were more impressive going forward despite playing with a five-man defence, yet proved too weak against the long-ball approach of the Jordanians at the Baangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif opted for a 5-4-1 formation, with injured goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel making way for Rasel Mahmud Liton and Atiqur Rahman Meshu coming in as a roving defender in a fortified backline.

Yet it was a glaring mistake by Meshu which led which led to the first goal in the 14th minute of the match. The versatile defender panicked after a long kick from the Jordan keeper and used an arm to control the ball inside his own box, conceding a needless penalty. Jordan's centre-forward Abdallah Deeb, who bagged a brace in this match, slammed the ball powerfully to the right hand corner.

Bangladesh, however, showed attacking intent from the start and came agonisingly close to an equaliser six minutes later, with skipper Mamunul Islam's curling corner headed just wide of the target by centre-back Yeasin Ahmed.

While the Jordanians kept threatening with their old-style box-to-box attacks, it was Bangladesh who once again came closest to scoring in the 32nd minute. This time, right-winger Jewel Rana got the better of a Jordan defender and rounded off the advancing goalkeeper, only to find himself fanned by a couple of opposition defenders. The diminutive winger -- who later spurned a gilt-edged opportunity -- managed to squeeze the ball to Zahid Hasan Emily, but the latter's attempt from a prostrated position was easily gathered by the keeper.

The Jordanians did what they are probably best at doing, getting the ball quickly to the other end, which yielded the corner that led to the second goal a minute later. With the Bangladesh defence failing to clear the danger, an unmarked Monther Abu Amara rifled the ball home from the middle of the box.

Ten minutes later, Jewel ran onto a brilliant through-ball from Emily, and after a heavy first touch, saw his attempt creep inches wide of the target as the best chance for the hosts went begging.

Right-back Nasirul Islam, who carried a niggling injury from the Australia fixture, made way for Mohammad Linkon four minutes into the second half and the Bangladesh backline started to look increasingly pedestrian. The visitors doubled the margin in the space of two minutes, with Deeb bagging his second with a powerful drive down the middle in the 57th minute, before Yaseen Bakheet finished off an excellent move with a diagonal shot from inside the box.

De Kruif later made a surprise attacking substitution, sacrificing Meshu for winger Abdul Baten Komol, and the substitute almost proved his worth with a double attempt in the 80th minute, but both his attempts were blocked by the goalkeeper. Topu Barman had the last chance to get Bangladesh on the scoreboard, but his header from a Jamal Bhuiyan cross in the 82nd minute went wide of the target.