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Confidence earned

Sports Reporter
The Bangladesh national football team arrived home yesterday from their tour of Nepal with some new-found confidence, having fought the hosts for a creditable 1-1 draw in the second International Friendly at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday, after the first one was cancelled due to unplayable pitch conditions.
The two pre-season fixtures were arranged at the insistence of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), for an estimated expenditure ofTk 16 lakh, to give the hooters
some much-needed match time against an international opponent.
The confidence level of the Bangladesh team, who lost against these Nepalese opponents 1-0 in the SAFF Championship last year, was not very high as the Himalayan nation had made great strides since while there were question marks over the Bangladesh hooters' physical and mental shape. But having restricted the home side to a dominating draw, Bangladeshis feel they missed a great opportunity for revenge.
Zahid Hossain, who was the key player for Bangladesh as he gave the Red and Green a 42nd minute lead from an expertly-taken
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free-kick as well as coming close two more times to increasing the score, feels Bangladesh should have won the game and should have won by a big margin.
“We were a little apprehensive to begin with. But after 10 or 15 minutes, we found that they were not a difficult proposition. But for the poor pitch conditions we would have won by at least 2-3 goals,” felt the wingman who proved too hard for the Nepalese defenders to contain.
Coach Saiful Bari Titu believes Bangladesh would have won the match if the referees played a more neutral role, but was happy with his team's performance.
“We would have won the match had their goalie being sent off for bringing down Zahid (Hossain) outside the box. But anyway I am happy with my team's performance as they played according to
strategy. The boys played with tremendous courage and conviction,” Titu said after the team's arrival in the afternoon.
The main concern for the coach prior to the match was a nervous defence which often cracks under pressure. But the defence line on that day held their own. The only blemish of the match was a fumble by the debutant goalkeeper Maksudur Rahman Mustak which allowed the Nepalese to draw level.
However, more than that gaffe, the players are disappointed at the fact that they did not get another opportunity to play due to rain since international fixtures are quire a rarity for them. The BFF are reportedly planning to host Nepal for a return fixture next February. Having played a crucial role in the draw, a confident Zahid feels the need for more international fixtures like this.
“We need to play more international matches. If that can be arranged, we can bring more good news and reasons to celebrate for the country,” said theTangail-born gifted winger.