Bangladesh suffered a harrowing first-half defensive collapse, conceding six goals to trail host nation Indonesia 6-1 at half-time in their final FIFA ASEAN Cup group match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Indonesian striker Mitchell Baker proved uncontainable, netting four times in the opening 45 minutes to dismantle Thomas Dooley’s side.
Indonesia opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Ole Romeny set up Mitchell Baker for his first. Baker doubled the lead nine minutes later, backheeling past goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon after the custodian saved initial efforts from Romeny and Ragnar Oratmangoen.
Rizky Ridho extended Indonesia’s advantage to 3-0 in the 32nd minute with a precise angled finish inside the box.
Bangladesh briefly offered a glimmer of hope in the 36th minute when Shuki Itofusa gathered a long pass from Sohel Rana Sr and delivered a cross for Shahriar Emon to head home, marking Bangladesh’s first goal of the tournament.
However, the joy proved short-lived as Baker completed his hat-trick just a minute later. The forward added his fourth in the 42nd minute with a header from Justin Hubner’s long delivery, before Hubner turned goalscorer in first-half stoppage time to cap a six-goal opening display.
The opening 45 minutes concluded a disappointing group stage for Dooley’s men, following earlier defeats to Malaysia (3-0) and Singapore (1-0).
