Syed Nayeemuddin's return to India turned out to be a forgettable experience as his Bangladesh side went down tamely to Kyrgyzstan 0-3 in their last match in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament, in Delhi, on Friday.
The victory kept the Central Asians' hopes alive in the five-nation competition. They now have to beat India on Sunday to make it to the title match against Syria.
Both teams have six points from three matches, but India (+6) have a better goal difference than Kyrgyzstan (+1). A draw will be enough for the home side to go through.
Kyrgyzstan got on the score-sheet through Lut Fullaev in the 29th minute. Fullaev made it 2-0 in the 53rd minutes before Ruslan Djamshidov could increase the tally three minutes later.
It was an utterly forgettable and one-sided contest, Bangladesh unable to put up a semblance of a fight.
Kyrgyzstan did not come up with anything great though and India coach Bob Houghton, who watched the match from the stands, will not be overly worried with what he saw.
The Ambedkar stadium, which was the scene for Nayeem's last match as India coach, when the team infamously went down 0-3 to Yemen in an Asian Cup qualifier, proved an unlucky hunting ground for the coach again as Bangladesh went down to Syria, India and Kyrgyzstan while managing a 1-1 draw against Cambodia in the tournament.
Falliev opened the scoring when Vadim Harchenko crossed from the left flank. With defenders Md Waly Faisal and Md Abul Hussain looking on, Falliev headed the ball home unchallenged past custodian Biplab Bhattachajee.
Bangladesh could have still got an unlikely equaliser but two goals at the start of the second half sealed their fate.
The second strike was almost an action replay of the first with Harchenko crossing from the right for Falliev to head home.
The third goal came three minutes later when an attempted centre from the left flank was deflected off a Bangladesh defender and Djamshidov was at the right place to find the target on the turn.
The Bangladesh team was in total disarray and dispirited. Whatever changes Nayeem made failed to have a desired impact.
He later attributed his team's shoddy performance to the tight schedule of the tournament.
"We played four matches in a week. Players are physically and mentally tired and it showed in their performance," he said.
His counterpart Nematjan Zakirov was happy with his team's performance and the result.
"We needed a big win today and the boys responded well. I am satisfied with the display," he said.
The Kyrgyzstan coach hoped for another big performance against India.
"India is a good side and we need to prepare well for the match. I hope we play well on Sunday," Zakirov added.
