KUALA LUMPUR: The national women’s soccer team finished with a goalless draw against Bangladesh in a Tier 1 international friendly match in Dhaka tonight.
Malayan Tigress goalkeeper Azurin Mazlan put on a courageous display as she thwarted several dangerous attempts from the home side at the Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium.
In tonight’s match, the national squad struggled to find their rhythm in the first half as Bangladesh issued an early warning through Akhi Khatun’s shot from outside the penalty box in the eighth minute which was deflected by Azurin.
Bangladesh continued to dominate the game by swarming the Malaysian half and almost broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, but the daring attempt of Masura Parvin who received a pass from a teammate in the penalty box went just above the crossbar.
Azurin once again reacted brilliantly to deny Bangladesh’s effort to find the opening goal after tipping out Sabina Khatun’s volley in the 17th minute before the national team finally started to find their stride to balance the game.
Azurin’s agility continued to be tested in the second half which saw her save Krishnarani’s free-kick in the 56th minute before keeping the goal intact despite picking up some minor injuries.
The two deadlocked teams wrestled to find the elusive net until the final whistle sounded.
Tonight’s 0-0 draw meant Malaysia finished their two Tier 1 international friendly matches against Bangladesh without a win, after being thrashed 0-6 at the same venue last Thursday.
The two friendly matches are part of Malaysia’s preparations for the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championships in the Philippines from July 4 to 17.
Malaysia, who are in Group A, will open their campaign against Singapore on July 4, followed by Indonesia (July 6), the Philippines (July 8), 2019 runners-up Thailand (July 10) and Australia on July 12.-Bernama
