Sagorika struck once again as Bangladesh edged past India 1-0 in their second opening-round match of the SAFF Under-19 Women’s Championship 2024 at Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur Sunday to reach the final.
The all-important goal came in the second minute of stoppage time as Sagorika slotted home into the bottom left corner after collecting a long ball.
The victory means the home side climbed solely to the top of the points table among four teams with six points, three more than India and Nepal.
On the last day of first-round fixtures, Bangladesh will face Bhutan, who lost all two matches, while India and Nepal will take on each other.
Bangladesh, the defending champions, confirmed the final spot as they have six points now.
It was an even affair in the opening half as both sides looked compact in defense and did not give space for the forwards to break the deadlock.
Notable actions in the first half were Bangladesh goalkeeper Swarna Rani Mandal making a diving save to deny Nehal’s left-footed shot in the 12th minute before skipper Afeida Khandaker took a free-kick from almost 20 yards but the effort flew over in added time.
It was more or less the same after the break before Surma Jannat’s header on a Sapna Rani corner was saved by the Indian keeper Anika Devi in the 83rd minute.
Munki Akhter had the best opportunity of the encounter for Bangladesh four minutes before the end of normal time but the forward could not beat Anika on one-on-one after collecting a missed pass.
In-form Sagorika, who netted two goals in the first match against Nepal, was waiting the whole match for the opportunity and she took it with a calm finish to guide Bangladesh to victory.
RESULT
Bangladesh 1 (Sagorika 90+2) India 0