Asia Cup: Bangladesh deal 2-1 blow to Oman

Jakarta, May 24 A vibrant Bangladesh dealt a 2-1 blow to Oman in their Pool B encounter at the Hero Asia Cup here at the sprawling GBK Sports Arena on Tuesday.
It was a pleasant win for Bangladesh as they had, a fortnight ago, lost to them in the Asian Games qualifier.
In Tuesday’s match, Bangladesh thrust faith on their coach Gobinathan Krishnamurthy’s plans, converted from the opportunities coming their way and cramped Oman from possible scoring chances.
An early sixth minute goal by Ashraful Islam through a well-struck penalty corner struck the right chord for Bangladesh.
Though Oman turned the tables with a field goal in the 17th minute through Rashad Al Fazari to equalize 1-1, they could not convert a single goal from the six penalty corners they created in the match which dented their hopes of a win.
Bangladesh reclaimed the lead in the 40th minute with another penalty corner, converted by Mohammad Rakibul with a shade of elegance.
“It definitely feels good to win after losing 6-2 to Oman in the final of Asian Games Qualifier. Today, the boys played much better and Oman too did well today,” coach Gopi said.
“We are here to improve the way we play and stick to the plan. We have played almost 13-14 games together, I am happy to have created a good bunch here with several young players coming into the ranks,” he said.