Bangladesh target victory against Singapore

At the start of the ASEAN Cup, Bangladesh coach Thomas Doley said the tournament was primarily some preparations for the SAFF Championship. However, the preparations got off to a poor start, with Doley’s Bangladesh losing 3-0 to Malaysia in their opening match. Ahead of their second match against Singapore, Doley said the team wants to bounce back with a victory.

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s mistakes against Malaysia, Doley said, “I am very disappointed with what we failed to do against Malaysia. We gave them opportunities to create chances. They took advantage of the gifts we gave them. Those were mistakes from our side. They are certainly a very good and strong team, everyone knows that. But the situation should not have been like that.”

The Bangladesh coach wants to turn things around with a victory against Singapore.

“The last two matches against Singapore were very competitive. If you listen to the players, supporters and the media, it seems that we could have won both of those matches as well. That means the two teams are at a similar level. I have already told the players that we need to enter the field with a different mindset and a different attitude. I want to win the match. There is no doubt about that. I do not care how far above us they are in the rankings. We have to play football,” Doley said.

Doley also outlined his plan for the match against Singapore.

“We have to play offensively. We need to be much more aggressive in man-to-man marking and in our possession game. We have to play forward. We can get three points against Singapore—that was our main objective,” he said.

Doley added, “My plan is to focus on ourselves. We have to keep the match under our control. Rather than focusing too much on the other team, we need to concentrate on how we want to play. If we allow any team to play freely and do not put pressure on their players, any team can play well against us and beat us. We do not want that to happen. I want to see an attacking formation.”

Bangladesh and Singapore will face each other in the tournament’s second match at 3pm tomorrow.