Bosnia comes out with guns blazing

By A. Vinod

KOCHI, JAN. 12. It was a display of power football at its best. And, as Bosnia- Herzegovina came out with all its guns blazing, it had little difficulty to put it across Bangladesh 2-0 in the Group I match of the Sahara Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Friday night.

Perhaps, it was the lack of experience which did the Bangladeshis in. For, they undoubtedly were able to share the honours with their rivals all through the first session, shielding their goal- area with panache despite being under severe pressure. But this was before Almedin Hota turned the match around in favour of the Bosnians with a brace in the early stages of the final half.

Even if the first-half remained goal-barren, there was no shortage of action as the Bosnians came up with a pressing game and the Bangladeshis retaliating with some stout defending. Played on a fast pace, the session would have seen the Bangladesh forward enter the rival-half on not more than three occasions, of which two did come about only when minutes were left for the breather.

These were, of course, nipped in the bud itself by an alert Bosnian defence. Yet, the Bangladesh coach, the Austrian- born George Kottan could have been only pleased with the performance dished out by his boys all through the first 45 minutes of play. Even with the disadvantage of height and basic speed, they were right on top when it came to defending their citadel and never once were they seen to be overtaken by panic as the Bosnian forwards came rushing time and again.

The Bosnian hunt, for all the hard work delivered by Almedin Hota, Dzelaludin Muharemovic and Admir Adzem, could materialise as the Bangladeshi defence rose as one man to thwart the efforts of its rival to forge ahead. Marking closely the advancing trio, the Bangladesh defence led by Mohd. Sujon and Rajani Kanta Barman looked to have all the right cards to trump the forays initiated by the Bosnians.

There was, certainly, a few close calls though before the session ended after witnessing Barman and Mohd. Zulfikar Mahmod earning a yellow card each for rough tackling. The question then was whether the South Asians would be able to come with a repeat display in the second-half, especially in the context of the common belief that the Bosnians given the humid weather conditions would find difficult to keep the same pace going.

The first eight minutes of play went on the expected lines, before the Bosnians proved that they had sufficient reserve energy to pull their side through. A long ball through the left from deep defender Dalibor Nedic was met efficiently by Mirzet Krupinac and turned into the heart of the rival box. And there was Hota right on the spot to convert the defence-splitting pass with any fuss.

The Bangladeshi defence, once it cracked, looked all set to be demolished fully as the Bosnians continued to dominate and Sasa Papac almost scored with a first-time shot off a pass from Sead Seferovic. Papac's brilliant try would have gone out after kissing the cross-piece, but the Bosnians were not be denied for long. The goal that put the issue beyond doubt was scored by Hota himself who given the required room had little difficulty to volley in a pass from substitute Mirsad Beslija past a hapless Mohd. Aminul Haque, the Bangladeshi custodian.

The duel between Hota and Haque continued through the remaining period of play as well as the Bosnians showed no signs of fatigue and persisted to maintain a definite edge over their day's opponents. The crowd, which remained thin for a second consecutive day, could not have asked for more even if the pace of the game did come down drastically towards the end.

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Section  : Sport
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