LAHORE: Pakistan’s national football coach Tariq Lutfi defended his players’ performance in their 2014 World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh here at the Punjab Stadium on Sunday night, as the hosts’ Cup campaign ended with a goalless draw.
After the Sunday’s second leg qualifying match, which Pakistan had to win with a 4-0 margin, Bangladesh reserved a berth in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers after the draw that gave the visitors a 3-0 aggregate win.
After losing the away tie 0-3 to Bangladesh on June 29, Pakistan faced a must-win 4-0 situation in Lahore to qualify for the next round.
As a draw was the minimum acceptable target for the visitors, they were satisfied with their show in front of around 6,000 fans.
Though Pakistan tried to adopt a belligerent approach, they lacked that extra strength needed to overwhelm the opponents, especially in the goal-area where the hosts squandered some significant scoring chances with wayward kicking.
Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi was somewhat upset over his team’s performance, however defended their show in Sunday’s match.
“After losing the first match by a big margin it was not easy for any team to stage a comeback. But this team played well to earn a draw [today].
“My resignation will not be enough to improve the team strength as the best way to make it a formidable unit is to play a good number of international matches,” Lutfi reckoned, while replying to a volley of questions about his intention, if any, to quit.
To a question, he denied the impression that his team played did not play as a unit.
“Not a single player preferred individual game and they were playing like one-unit,” Lutfi stated.
Asked whether his charges didn’t have the required fighting spirit which demanded a 4-0 victory against Bangladesh, the coach claimed they did their best but could not benefit from the opportunities.
Bangladesh preferred a defensive game and later their captain Biplob Bhattacharaje admitted that.
“We wanted to go for the next round of the World Cup at all costs. Therefore, [scoring] the goal was not important for us in this match; and we are satisfied with the result,” was the reply when asked whether he expected a draw against Pakistan after winning 3-0 against the same team at home in the first leg match.
Biplob, who thanked the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) for their hospitality, said he had great love for Pakistani people and added he would not ignore the memories of the tour.
Bangladesh coach Nikola Ilievski, meanwhile, said he was happy over the result.
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