Maldives Olympic team edged past Cambodia to open their Bangabandhu Gold Cup account with a thrilling 3-2 win at Shams-ul-Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday.
Hassan Naiz was the hero on the day as the Maldives striker netted a brace apart from assisting the Red Snappers top of Group B. Bahrain U-20 and Bangladesh U-23 are tied at second place with one point each.
Cambodia, who goes by the nickname Angkor Warriors, despite being ranked 20 places below Maldives, however, were the better side on the day and exhibited strong skills and ball control ability.
Naiz helped Abdulla Ahmad to take the lead in the fourth minute before Vandeth Son equalised at the quarter-hour mark with a left-footed volley.
The first-half saw two more goals as the game was poised for an intense result. Cambodian midfielder Dina Tit made sure they remain level at the breather as he scored in added time to cancel out Maldives’ lead lead, taken by Naiz in the 38th minute. Naiz, however, snatched the fate of the game to his side’s favour with a fabulous goal in the 78th minute.
Change in schedule
The rest of the scheduled fixture of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup has been bodily shifted and deferred for a day. Bangladesh national team’s second match against Malaysian club Felda United has also been rescheduled and will now take place tomorrow instead of today. The final match will be played on January 22 at 5pm instead of January 20.
