Bangladesh football team scripted a brilliant comeback to beat the Maldives 3-1 in their second Group B fixture in the SAFF Bangabandhu Championship 2023 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India Sunday.
Bashundhara Kings duo Tariq Raihan Kazi and Sheikh Morsalin netted one each in the second half after Rakib Hossain cancelled Hamza Mohamed's lead before the break.
It was the men in red and green's first victory in the ongoing competition after losing to a strong Lebanon side 2-0 in the opening encounter last Thursday at the same venue.
They are now in a favorable position to reach the semi-finals before facing Bhutan this Wednesday.
Javier Cabrera made two changes in the starting line-up from the Lebanon defeat by bringing in Rakib and Mohammad Ridoy in place of Suman Reza and Mojibur Rahman Jony.
Bangladesh started brightly and created the first chance when Mohammad Sohel Rana's header on a Jamal Bhuiyan corner was saved by goalkeeper Hussain Shareef in the 11th minute.
Hamza put Maldives ahead in the 17th minute as his right-footed strike from around 20 yards gave diving Anisur Rahman Zico no chance.
Bangladesh were left disappointed again in the 34th minute when Topu Barman's header from a Jamal corner was cleared off the line.
Rakib made things all square with a low header three minutes before the half-time whistle after Topu's headed pass from Sohel Rana's cross met him near the far post.
It was a goal orchestrated entirely by Kings players as the trio were set in motion by a Bishwanath Ghosh throw in; the quartet plying their trade for the Bangladesh Premier League champions.
Bishwanath then saw his header fly over the crossbar just after resumption as Bangladesh looked more dominant and organized.
Rakib is the toast of his teammates BFF Rakib, who scored his second international goal, left the field injured and was replaced by Mohammad Ibrahim soon after the hour mark.
Tariq gave Bangladesh the lead for the first time in the 67th minute following a goalmouth scramble that saw the Finland-born center-back's two initial attempts blocked.
Morsalin came off the bench replacing Jamal and made an immediate impact when his shot from top of the box was fisted away by Shareef.
It was Morsalin who all but sealed victory in the 90th minute after fooling Maldives captain Samooh Ali before hitting the net at the near post to get his first international goal.
“It was a very important match for us. There was pressure but we overcame this to win the match. Hopefully we will beat Bhutan next,” said Rakib during the post-match presentation.
Last time Bangladesh defeated Maldives in the SAFF Championship was back in 2003 when they eventually emerged champions.
Since then, the two sides faced each other three times but Bangladesh were on the losing side on every occasion.
If Bangladesh beat Bhutan and Lebanon get at least a point against the Maldives, Cabrera's charges would move to the last four.
Bangladesh Playing XI: Anisur Rahman Zico, Bishwanath Ghosh, Topu Barman, Tariq Raihan Kazi (Mehedi Hasan 83), Isa Faysal, Sohel Rana (Mojibur Rahman Jony 64), Mohammad Sohel Rana, Jamal Bhuiyan (Sheikh Morsalin 64), Mohammad Ridoy, Foysal Ahmed Fahim (Suman Reza 89), Rakib Hossain (Mohammad Ibrahim 64)
RESULT
Bangladesh 3 (Rakib 42, Tariq 67, Morsalin 90) Maldives 1 (Hamza 18)