Ronan Sullivan makes his mark on Bangladesh debut

Ronan Sullivan made an immediate impact on his debut in Bangladesh colours, scoring twice as the men in red and green began their SAFF U-20 Championship campaign with a 2-0 win over Pakistan at the Maldives National Football Stadium in Male on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old striker from the Philadelphia Union Academy announced himself in style, breaking the deadlock in the 54th minute with a stunning free-kick after Bangladesh had failed to turn their dominance into a goal despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the first half.

Sullivan then sealed the victory 13 minutes later, heading home unmarked inside the box from a superb cross by Sheikh Sangram.

The brace was enough to earn Mark Cox’s side all three points, although Bangladesh could have won by a much bigger margin had they shown more cohesion and fluency in their build-up play, particularly before the break.

Operating as a centre-forward, Ronan saw relatively little of the ball throughout the match, but two moments of real quality were enough to set him apart. The lanky forward was substituted in the 89th minute to a roaring ovation from a large expatriate Bangladeshi crowd, while his twin brother Declan had to settle for watching from the sidelines on this occasion.

Bangladesh created several other openings as they controlled the game from start to finish, but their closest chance before the breakthrough came when Murshed Ali’s early effort was blocked on the goal line by a defender.

Pakistan thought they had found an equaliser on the hour mark when Khobaib Khan climbed above Bangladesh goalkeeper Ismail Hossain to head home from a long ball, but the referee ruled it out for a foul on the keeper after the two collided.

Bangladesh will next face India in their second and final Group B fixture on Saturday.