'Very painful': Sagorika rues missed chance against Vietnam

“I’m feeling very down after losing today’s match,” was the simple confession from Bangladesh forward Mst Sagorika as Bangladesh missed a chance to create history after going down 1-0 to Vietnam in their third and final group match of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup in Thailand on Tuesday.

Sagorika had a brilliant campaign in the tournament, as she struck a brace in the first match against hosts Thailand, who later bounced back to win the match by a 3-2 margin. Bangladesh went down 2-0 to China in the second game before today’s defeat.

However, an outright win over Vietnam could have taken Bangladesh to the quarterfinals in their debut appearance.

“It has been very painful for us because we lost the match after conceding the goal in the second half,” Sagorika said in a post-match conversation at the ground.

“Our midfield was disorganised, so they could not provide the ball to the forwards,” said the teenage forward, adding that they have learned a lot from the match.

“Vietnam are a strong team, and we need to be stronger like them. We need to hone our skills and techniques, and we learned that from them. We are looking forward to playing better than them in the coming days,” Sagorika added.

After a barren first half, Bangladesh conceded the decider due to a fumble from goalkeeper Mile Akter, thus giving away a good opportunity to reach the quarterfinals, as even a draw would have kept their chances of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams -- subject to the outcomes of the other two groups.