Bangladesh kicked off their much-anticipated second and last group stage clash against Sri Lanka with an attacking outlook in the SAFF Championship in the National Stadium, Dhaka on Wednesday.
Midfielder Shamit Shome made an instant impact when he put one past the Lanka nets in under 10 minutes of the game. From a Hamza Choudhury cross, the Lankan goalkeeper Sujan Perera could involve himself in the action to make sure he can make his hand interfere, as the cross was getting dangerous for the visitors. Perera was able to push the ball through to the other side and made sure a deflection was earned, but on the other side was Shamit Shome, who was ready to embrace the moment, as he put the hosts ahead in the game on the 9th minute by 1-0.
However, Sri Lanka did not seem to get bogged down by that as their counter-attack was coming in numbers. Bangladesh had to toil very hard defensively as Sri Lanka created some really good chances.
To make matters worse for Sri Lanka, Mohammad Ibrahim pushed one forward and skipper Hamza made sure he put the ball past Perera to take the hosts to an unassailable 2-0 lead at the 44th minute of the game.
Bangladesh is playing with three changes after the expatriate duo Hamza and Farhaan Ali Wahid joined the camp after the Bhutan clash, and the local forward Mohammad Ibrahim started in place of Bishwanth Ghosh.
