Defender Topu Barman scored a last-gasp penalty as Bangladesh beat Maldives 2-1 in their second match of the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa four-nation tournament to end their 18-year winless streak against the Island nation in Colombo on Saturday.
The first half ended 1-1 as captain Jamal Bhuiyan gave Bangladesh an early lead in the 12th minute before Maldives midfielder Mohamed Umair equalised in the 32nd minute at the Racecourse Racecourse International Stadium.
The match remained in a stalemate for majority of the second half before Bangladesh got awarded a late penalty when their substitute forward Jewel Rana was brought down inside the box by Maldives goalkeeper Ali Naajih.
Topu stepped up and converted the penalty just two minutes from the end of the stipulated time to give Bangladesh their first victory over the Maldives since beating them in the 2003 SAFF Championship final in Dhaka.
Since that historic victory, Bangladesh have lost all four of their games against the Maldives including October’s 0-2 loss in the 2021 SAFF Championship.
This was also the first match of the four-nation tournament that didn’t end in a stalemate as Bangladesh played a 1-1 draw against Seychelles in their first game a day after the hosts Sri Lanka and the Maldives played a 4-4 draw in the tournament opener on November 9.
With the day’s win, Bangladesh have earned four points from two games and kept their hopes to qualify for the final alive.
After an evenly matched first few minutes, an unmarked Jamal gave Bangladesh the lead with a tap-in from goalmouth off defender Rahmat Mia’s long throw-in from the left side.
The goal was initially disallowed by Sri Lankan referee HKC Dilan Prera due to a wrong judgment from the linesman but after discussing it with the linesman the referee reversed his decision.
After conceding the goal, Maldives pressed hard for the equaliser and succeeded 20 minutes later when Umair scored following a corner kick from Maldives’ star striker Ali Ashfaq.
Bangladesh were in backfoot from the start of the second half as the Island nation continued to press hard.
To counter the pressure, Bangladesh’s interim coach Mario Lemos made three substitutions between 74th-76th minutes.
The Portuguese coach’s decisions paid off as Bangladesh got more vivid upfront and one of his substitutions earned the decisive penalty.
Bangladesh will play their last game in the league phase against Sri Lanka on November 16. The final will be held on November 19.
