Biratnagar: Bangladesh women’s national team lost 3-0 to hosts Nepal in their second match in the group stage of the ongoing SAFF Women’s Championship 2019.
The Red and Greens were caught surprised by their Nepalese counterparts as the hosts drew first blood only six minutes into the game at the Sahid Rangashala in Biratnagar, Nepal.
Bangladesh defender Masura Parvin tried to head a long ball clear but instead, steered the ball over the head of her goalkeeper and into the net.
The hosts scored their second in the 21st minute, thanks to forward Sabitra Bhandari, putting Bangladesh under pressure.
Nepal then tripled their lead within five minutes to put the game beyond the young Bangladesh side.
This time Sabitra turned provider to for her attacking partner Manjali Kumari Yonjan who made it 3-0 in the 26th minute.
After the third goal, Bangladesh team had a conversation during the timeout and played a much more disciplined and matured game till the end.
The defence became much more foolproof and Bangladesh began to see much more of the ball.
However, as no team could score any more goals, it finished 3-0 in favour of the hosts.
The loss meant that Bangladesh finishes the group as runners-up and Nepal goes though as group champions while Bhutan crash out of the competition.
Meanwhile in Group B, Maldives are already out of the competition losing both their games against India and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka and India will lock horns tomorrow to decide the group champions which would also decide who Bangladesh’s opponents would be in the semi-finals.
The Red and Greens now have three days to reflect and recover from the loss and and get prepared for the second semi-final to be played on March 20. Their opponents will be decided tomorrow after the India-Sri Lanka game.
