Bengaluru, Jun 22 (PTI) Lebanon coach Aleksander Ilic was a relieved man after his side breached Bangladesh’s defence to eke out a 2-0 win in their SAFF Championship match here at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Thursday.
“Bangladesh was strong in their defence and we struggled to make an impact in the first half. But I am happy that we managed to win in the end and walk away with three points,” Ilic said in the post-match press conference.
Hassan Maatouk netted Lebanon’s first goal of the match in the 74th minute while Khalil Bader applied finishing touches with a second goal in the dying minutes of the match.
Ilic lauded Maatouk for dishing out a game-changing effort in the match.
“He is 35 but remains a very important player for us. Whatever decisions he takes on the field put the opposition in a difficult place. Without him we might not have gone through the defences of Bangladesh today,” he added.
Bangladesh coach Javier Fernandez was disappointed as his team conceded two goals in the business end of the match after running Lebanon close till then.
“Yes, it was disappointing. I can say that we let Lebanon go away with three points and a bit more caution from us could have landed a point for us, very important in a tight group like this. But I can assure you that we will take some lessons from this match and will perform better in the coming matches,” said Fernandez.
Source: PTI News
