Bashundhara Kings suffered a narrow 3-2 margin defeat to Oman鈥檚 Al Seeb Club in their Group B opener of the AFC Challenge League at the Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium in Kuwait on Saturday.
Midfielders Nasser Al Rawahi, Zahir Al Aghbari and forward Abdulaziz Al Maqbali scored once each for the AFC Cup 2022 champions Al Seeb while Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto and midfielder Rakib Hossain pulled two goals back for Kings.
Kings made a comeback once to end the first half 1-1 and gave Al Seeb a test time with a 2-1 lead before the winners settled the contest.
Kings began brightly and forced Al Seeb鈥檚 keeper Ahmed Alrawahi, into making a reflex stop from Dorielton Gomes鈥� close-range attempt just in the second minute.
Al Seeb opened the scoring five minutes later when Nasser snuck behind defender Rimon Hossain to chest down Arshad Alalawi鈥檚 pass before steering past Kings keeper Mehdi Hasan Srabon.
Kings did not let their spirit dampen and returned to the game with Raphael levelling the margin in the 41st minute.
Kings took the lead in the 53rd minute when Dorielton fed Rakib on the right before firing a shot from distance.聽
The lead lasted seven minutes as Al Seeb equalised when Zahir slammed a shot into the bottom corner in the 60th minute before Abdulaziz volleyed home the ball from the centre of the box for the win.
Kings will play the next match of the four-team group against Lebanon鈥檚 Al Ansar FC on October 28 before facing hosts Kuwait Sports Club on October 31.聽
