Bangladesh went into half-time a goal down after Matt Orr’s penalty gave Hong Kong, China the lead in their Asian Cup Qualifiers return leg at the Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 36th minute following an error from Kazi Tariq Raihan, who lost control of the ball inside the box and then fouled Fernando Pereira in an attempt to recover it. The referee pointed straight to the spot, and Orr confidently sent goalkeeper Mitul Marma the wrong way to make it 1–0.
Javier Cabrera made several changes to Bangladesh’s starting line-up for the match, bringing in Zayyan Ahmed, Shomit Shome and Topu Barman. The visitors adopted a defensive approach, staying compact at the back. Though Hong Kong pushed forward repeatedly, they struggled to seriously trouble Mitul until the penalty.
In the 22nd minute, Shomit Som surged into the attacking third before being dragged down by a Hong Kong defender. From the resulting free-kick just outside the area, Hamza’s strike clipped the wall and went behind for a corner.
Bangladesh survived another scare just before the interval when Mitul spilled a cross, only for a defender to react sharply and clear the danger.
Having lost the first leg 4–3 at the National Stadium in Paltan last Thursday, Bangladesh remain bottom of Group C with one point. They must now win this match to keep their hopes of advancing in the qualifiers alive.
