Bangladesh reach SAFF U19 final with narrow 2-1 win over Nepal

Nepal keep Bangladesh at bay for most of the game, but two goals in seven second-half minutes change the tide of the game

Bangladesh have squeezed past Nepal with a narrow 2-1 victory in the semi-final of the SAFF Under-19 Championship, thanks to two second-half goals in the space of seven minutes.

After struggling to break the deadlock for 73 minutes, goals from Ashikur Rahman and skipper Nazmul Huda Faysal drove the men in red and green to the victory at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in India’s Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

On Sunday, Bangladesh will take on the winner of the other semifinal between India and the Maldives.

Nepal created the majority of the opportunities towards the start, keeping the Bangladesh defence under pressure.

After the break, Nepal survived a scare when defender Madan Paudel cleared the ball off the goal line in the 55th minute. But they retaliated with a couple of threatening attacks, one of which the Bangladeshi goalkeeper spilled and had to keep away by the tap of his fingertips in the box.

Bangladesh then steamed ahead on the break but Nepalese defence kept them at bay at the expense of a corner, which proved to be pivotal.

As Faysal swung it in, Ashikur steadied himself at the farpost, rose perfectly and sent a powerful header home to put Bangladesh ahead. Moments later, Faysal latched on to a surgical pass from Mohammad Manik and whipped a power shot in to double the lead.

Nepal, however, fought back as an unmarked Sujan Dangol found space inside the Bangladesh box and slammed the ball past the goalie in the 86th minute, injecting life back into the game.

Faysal missed an opportunity to restore the lead in stoppage time, failing to pull the trigger under pressure from two defenders in the Nepalese box.