Bangladesh go down fighting

Bangladesh put on an impressive display of possession-based attacking football against Turkmenistan in their second group match of the Asian Cup Qualifiers, but went down 2-1 eventually at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

The men in red and green conceded a seventh-minute lead from a corner kick, turned in smartly by Annadurdyev Altymyrat. But Mohammad Ibrahim's goalline header brought Bangladesh roaring back into the match four minutes later.

Javier Cabrera's charges, who opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat against group-favourites Bahrain on Wednesday, fought toe-to-toe with the Central Asian nation, and with a little more luck on their side, might have bagged the first point of their campaign.

But substitute Arslan Amanov's goal in the 77th minute denied Bangladesh that feat and all but ended their hopes of qualifying for next year's Asian Cup.