SAFF Championship : Bangladesh beat Maldives 3-1

Rakib Hossain and Tarik Raihan Kazi struck on either side of the interval and Sheikh Morsalin capped off the victory with a late strike as Bangladesh beat Maldives 3-1 in their second SAFF Championship fixture at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru today.

The charges of Javier Cabrera remain in contention to progress beyond the group stage after they suffered a 2-0 loss against Lebanon in their tournament opener.

Bangladesh began proceedings on a positive note, focusing on building up from the back, with Maldives content to play a reactive game.

Although Maldives struck the opening goal through Hamza Mohamed in the 17th minute, Bangladesh were the far superior side on the day, having registered a greater share of possession and chances created.

After the setback, Bangladesh did not succumb to pressure and scored the crucial equaliser minutes before half-time when Rakib Hossain thumped a header home from close range following a link-up play between Sohel Rana and Tapu Barman.

The second half began with Bangladesh charged up to take the lead but their execution in passing let them down on several occasions. Maldives, despite being the superior ranked side (154 compared to Bangladesh 192), appeared lacklustre throughout the game.

Cabrera made three substitutions around the hour mark, as he did in the Lebanon game, and it paid dividends as Tarik capitalized on a goalmouth melee and scored with a header in the 67th minute.

Substitute midfielder Sheikh Morsalin capped off the victory with a left-footed strike following a counter attack in the 90th minute.

Bangladesh will play their final game of the group stage against Bhutan on Wednesday.

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