Tapu blames lack of concentration for Nepal loss

Centre-back Tapu Barman, who has been nursing a knee injury since December, opined that Bangladesh's erratic organisation in defence and a lack of concentration were key reasons behind a disappointing 3-1 loss in an international friendly against hosts Nepal at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

"It seemed to me there were problems in organising the defence and in terms of man-marking," Tapu told The Daily Star today. "I think the coach must have assigned certain players to specific individuals after identifying Nepal's key players but there may have lapses in concentration regarding those roles. When you concede from set-pieces, the issues it is definitely about man-marking and concentration."

Tapu, who has not played a single game under Javier Cabrera, was a bold performer in defence during the 2021 SAFF Championship, with Bangladesh on the verge of the final. But Nepal broke their hearts with a 1-1 draw in a must-win game, thanks to a last-minute penalty converted by Anjan Bista.

Asked if Bangladesh's players should have communicated better during set-pieces, Tapu said: "Everyone is senior that has been with the national team for long time. There are no juniors. Each player understands his duty when the opposition has a free-kick. There is nothing to add about leadership in the backline because everyone has to take the initiative. If a player has played for the national team for five years, they cannot be expected to mature further."

Bangladesh's defence was exposed repeatedly as Nepal controlled the midfield well in the first half against a rather inactive midfield comprising of Jamal Bhuiyan, Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Biplo Ahmed.

Anjan returned to haunt Bangladesh again on Tuesday, slotting home a hattrick inside 38 minutes. Surprisingly, the diminutive striker rose above Bangladesh's players to head home twice from set-pieces.

"Anjan is the most clever player after Rohit Chand. Anjan is now Nepal's key player and nets goals in almost every match. We should have been aware of Anjan," Tapu said.

He also believed that Bangladesh needed to think more clearly and not become over-excited when playing against Nepal.

"Nepal is becoming a stronger opposition for us. They have notched more wins in recent matches against us. I think we become excited while playing against Nepal. We want to put up better performances against them and win the match but that puts us under pressure. We don't have such problems while playing against India. You usually make mistakes when you are excited," concluded Tapu, who is expected to join Bashundhara Kings for the upcoming pre-season training camp.