Coach Duly Explains Playing Defender Bishwanath as a Striker: 'We Have No Traditional Number Nine'

Bangladesh's national football team began its SAFF campaign with a 1-0 win over Bhutan at the National Stadium in Dhaka. After the match, however, one curiosity outweighed all other discussion — why defender Bishwanath Ghosh was suddenly played as a striker.

Head coach Thomas Duly explained the reasoning behind the decision at the post-match press conference. His voice was hoarse, but there was relief in his words at starting the SAFF campaign with a win.

Duly said: 'We admit that we do not have a traditional number nine in our team and we need to find one. Bishwanath is a very attacking player.'

Bishwanath had never been seen playing as a striker in domestic football, let alone in an international match. Surprising everyone, Duly stationed him in the number nine position on the day.

The coach said that while in San Marino he had told Bishwanath that playing him as a central back carried the risk, because of his intensity, of giving away a penalty or receiving a red card. He had thought Bishwanath could play at right-back, but there too he would have to defend inside the box.

In Duly's words, against San Marino he played Bishwanath as a right-forward and he did an outstanding job. In that match Bishwanath got two one-on-one chances against the goalkeeper, assisted the team's second goal and kept the opposing defenders under pressure with great energy.

Against Bhutan too, while he was on the pitch, Bishwanath pressed the ball, kept the opposing defence busy and chased after the ball. He also played some passes and took a good header, though it went wide of the post. The coach took him off some time after the break.

Duly said: 'Saad is playing brilliantly on the right side and Tariq is doing well in defence. So I wanted Bishwanath to play in a position where he could help the team most. As a number nine you have to go where there is a risk of getting hurt, and he does not hold back from that at all. I was hoping he would score today; luck was not on his side with the chance, but I am extremely satisfied with his contribution.'

Despite winning by only one goal, the coach expressed satisfaction with the overall performance. He said: 'Overall I am happy with the team's play. We won the match and we wanted the three points, which we got. For 20 to 30 minutes in the first half and 20 minutes in the second half we showed very good ball movement and created chances.'

Praising the defence, Duly said the team had been very organised. Lessons from Indonesia's recent matches meant the team had to stay organised rather than play in a disorganised way. Given the short time the team has worked together, he said he was very pleased with how it played.

The coach also said the same pace and intensity cannot be kept up for the full 90 minutes. He said that if concentration is lost or tiredness sets in, the opponent will find chances. As long as the team maintains physical contact and keeps the opponent under pressure, it plays well. For about 15 minutes the team slipped somewhat onto the back foot, which would be reviewed with the squad.

Duly also pointed to one problem in the team. He said there had been many chances, but goals will only come when there are enough players in the box. The team had been playing with only one or two players in the box against seven or eight opposing defenders, something he wants to change in the future.