Sports
SAFF Cup Bangladesh girls start SAFF Cup with win over Nepal
Dhaka, February 4: Bangladesh girls beat Nepal 3-1 in their first match of the SAFF Women's Under-20 Championship tournament at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in the capital's Kamalapur on Friday. It was a whirlwind start. Bangladesh scored 2 goals within 13 minutes by repeatedly attacking Nepal. It seemed that the hosts could win by a huge margin.
But had to wait till 90 minutes to get the third goal. Bangladesh started the Women's Under-20 Championship with a 3-1 win after Nepal scored a goal in the middle. By winning the first match, the girls of Bangladesh raised the possibility of playing in the final.
Bangladesh took the lead in the third minute with Akalima Khatun's goal. The first goal combination was Akalima and Shaheda Akhtar Ripa, the two best players in the latest women's league.
Shaheda Akhtar, who won the best player of the league award, scored from a pass by Ripa and Akalima Khatun, who won the award for the most goals in the league, scored 25 goals.
It didn't take long for the host girls to double the lead. In the 13th minute, the defenders of Nepal failed to clear Afida Khandkar's shot. Captain Shamsunnahar caught the ball and sent the ball into the net with a perfect placement.
The girls of Nepal did not stop after two goals. Desperate to close the gap, Nepal succeeded in 24 minutes. Bangladesh's defense could not clear the ball from the corner properly. Manmaya Damai got the ball in a very unprotected place. His left-footed shot took refuge in the net.
In the 53rd minute, a chance to increase the gap came in front of Chotan's team. Afia Khandkar's free-kick from outside the box was blocked by Nepal goalkeeper Kavita BK as it went into the corner of the post.
Bangladesh created an opportunity in the 82nd minute. Akalima Khatun took the ball from the right side and put a cross into the goal. However, the girls of the host team could not use the opportunity as there was no player near the ball.
Bangladesh made the gap 3-1 in the last minute. In the 90th minute, Shaheda Akhtar Ripa's shot went into Nepal's net. The girls in the red-green jersey started the SAFF U-20 Championship with an easy win.
