Bangladesh script come-from-behind win over Maldives to stay alive in SAFF Championship
Tariq Qazi's header in the 67th minute helped Bangladesh take the lead for the first time in the match. Sheikh Morsalin scored in the 90th minute to give Bangladesh a 3-1 win and helped them stay alive in the tournament.
Bangladesh defeated Maldives for the first time in 20 years in Bengaluru's Sree Kantirava Stadium in an important Group B clash of the ongoing SAFF Championship.
The first half was tied at 1-1. Unlike its opening match against Lebanon, Bangladesh started positively and threatened from both the flanks. The Red Snappers' backline was under pressure in the opening minutes of the first half.
In the seventh minute, Bangladesh had their first opportunity. Sohel Rana's relentless pressing earned him possession on the right touchline, and he advanced to the final third, attempting to find Rakib Hossain in the opponent's box with a through pass. However, he overcooked his pass, resulting in a Maldives goal kick.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
But Hamza Mohamed opened the scoring for Malaysia in the 17th minute. Maldives created an opening with a diagonal pass to Haisham Hassam on the left wing, who found Ali Fasir with a cutback. Fasir immediately released his pass to Hamza Mohammad, who curled it into the bottom-right corner.
The goal looked to have given Maldives confidence, as they kept pressing Bangladesh on a couple of occasions. But Bangladesh stuck to their plan.
Rakib Hossain equalised for Bangladesh at the stroke of the break. Sohel Rana had enough time and space to lob the ball into the box for Topu Barman, who headed it across the goal towards Rakib Hossain at the far post. With an empty net in front of him, the Bangladesh number 10 headed the ball inside the net to bag the equaliser.
Cabrera's men began the second half similarly to the first, dominating the centre of the pitch and making it tough for the Maldives to shift from defence to attack.
Tariq Qazi's header in the 67th minute helped Bangladesh take the lead for the first time in the match. Sheikh Morsalin scored in the 90th minute to give Bangladesh a 3-1 win and helped them stay alive in the tournament.
The win keeps Bangladesh second in its group, with three points from two matches – level with Maldives but ahead of it on a head-to-head record.
