Bashundhara Kings’ hopes of staying alive in the AFC Challenge League were dashed on Tuesday night after suffering a 3–0 defeat to Lebanese champions Al Ansar FC at the Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium in Kuwait.
After a narrow 3–2 loss to Al-Seeb of Oman in their opening fixture, Mario Gomez’s men entered the match under pressure to respond. They needed a win to keep their campaign alive but instead left empty-handed again.
The Kings started the match brightly and could have gone ahead inside four minutes. Brazilian striker Dorielton received a perfect pass from Emmanuel Sunday and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Nazih Assaad, but his tame shot went straight into the keeper’s hands.
The Bangladeshi champions created another golden chance in the 22nd minute when Dorielton tried to break through the left flank, but his heavy touch allowed the Al Ansar keeper to collect the ball comfortably.
Those missed opportunities proved costly. Two minutes before the break, Al Ansar took the lead. From a well-delivered free-kick by Mohamad Hebous, midfielder Abubakar Akuki rose highest to head the ball into the net. Goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon tried to clear but failed to keep it out, giving the Lebanese side a 1–0 lead at half-time.
In the second half, things went from bad to worse for Bashundhara Kings. Defender Emmanuel Agbaji conceded two penalties within twenty minutes. Srabon produced a fine save from Ali Tinich’s spot-kick in the 53rd minute, diving low to his left to deny the second goal. Ten minutes later, Tinich found the back of the net, but the referee ruled it out for handball.
The Kings nearly equalised soon after, as Sunday’s powerful shot was acrobatically blocked by Assaad. However, Al Ansar kept their composure and continued to threaten on the counter. In the 74th minute, Bashundhara conceded another penalty, and this time Hichem Khalfallah made no mistake, sending Srabon the wrong way to double the advantage.
In stoppage time, Hebous added a third goal with a stunning left-footed finish, sealing a comprehensive 3–0 victory for Al Ansar and ending Bashundhara’s faint hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
With two defeats from two matches, Bashundhara Kings’ campaign is effectively over. Even a win against Kuwait SC in their final group match will not be enough to change their fate.
