Bangkok: It was an impressive performance by Sabina and Co. as Bangladesh women’s team registered their second win in the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship, beating Nepal by 3-0 at Nonthaburi Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Bangladesh went on the attack in the very first minute and created several chances during the proceedings. However, Sabina-Krishna did not have to wait long to take the lead. The early breakthrough came for Bangladesh when captain Sabina Khatun scored the first goal in the 14th minute. Krishna Rani Sarkar doubled the lead for Bangladesh in the 19th minute of the match.
Bangladesh maintained their domination in the second half as well. Despite mounting one attack after another, the red-green team squandered several clear-cut scoring opportunities. However, in the 33rd minute, substitute Lipi Akter scored to give Bangladesh a 3-0 lead.
Bangladesh goalkeeper Swapna Akter Jhili was one of the standout performers of the match. She played a key role in helping Bangladesh win the match by a large margin with some crucial saves.
With this win, Bangladesh reached the top of the table with seven points (equal with Pakistan) from three matches, keeping their hopes alive to win the tournament title. Nepal stands in fourth position in the table with four points from four matches.
Earlier, Bangladesh made a winning start in the tournament by beating India 3-1 in their opening match, thanks to skipper Sabina Khatun, who played a key role in the victory by scoring a brace. The team then played out a 3-3 draw with Bhutan in their second match.
In contrast, Nepal played out a 2-2 draw with Sri Lanka in their opening match, beat Maldives 5-0, and lost to India 8-1 in their second and third matches, respectively.
Bangladesh will play their next matches against Sri Lanka (January 21), Pakistan (January 23), and Maldives (January 25) at the same venue. The table toppers at the end of all seven rounds of matches will be crowned SAFF Women’s Futsal champions.