Defending champions Bangladesh stormed into the final of the SAFF Under-19 Championship, beating Nepal 2-1 in the exciting first semi-final held at Yupia-based Golden Jubilee Outdoor Stadium in Arunachal Pradesh, India Friday.
Bangladesh will now play the final against the second semi-final winners - either India or the Maldives.
The final will be held Sunday at the same venue.
After the barren first half, Bangladesh fought back strongly and scored two goals in the span of seven minutes.
Ashiqur Rahman finally broke the deadlock by scoring the first goal for Bangladesh in the 74th minute as he sent the ball to the net with a brilliant header, capitalizing on a corner from Nazmul Huda Faisal at left flank.
Captain Faisal doubled the lead for Bangladesh in the 81st minute.
Substitute Manik, after dodging past a Nepalese defender, provided a pass to the unmarked Faisal who made no mistake tapping the ball into the net with a perfect finish.
The match saw a tense finish as Sujan Dungol reduced the margin for Nepal in the 87th minute but Bangladesh did not allow Nepal further slip-ups.
Earlier, the Bengal Tigers played out a 2-2 draw with the Maldives in their opening group match before blanking Bhutan 3-0 in the second game to emerge as Group A champions.
RESULT
Bangladesh U-19 2 (Ashiqur 74, Faisal 81) Nepal U-19 1 (Sujan 87)
