Bangladesh climb to second after emphatic win in SAFF Futsal

A brace from captain Rahbar Khan powered Bangladesh to an emphatic 5-1 victory over Sri Lanka in their fourth match of the SAFF Futsal Championship in Bangkok on Tuesday.

The second win in four matches lifted Bangladesh to second place in the seven-team standings with seven points, edging ahead of Pakistan on goal difference.

Pakistan were held to a 4-4 draw by Nepal, while Maldives stayed top of the table after registering their third successive win, thrashing India 5-0 earlier in the day.
Bangladesh were initially under pressure against the Islanders, who enjoyed greater possession in the first half. 

However, the men in red and green took the lead against the run of play after goalkeeper Jahid Hasan Rabbi denied Sri Lanka with two fine saves inside the opening four minutes.

Rahbar broke the deadlock in the fourth minute, bursting down the right flank before beating Sri Lankan goalkeeper Aarnikan Sivanathan with a powerful left-footed strike. 

Sri Lanka equalised a minute later when captain Mohamed Faiser converted a free-kick, but Rahbar restored Bangladesh’s lead two minutes before the break with a sharp angled effort from the left.

After the restart, Bangladesh extended their advantage in the 22nd minute as Moin Ahmed tapped in from a square pass by Rahbar. Tajwar Bin Kashem added the fourth goal in the 34th minute, scoring on the rebound after his initial effort was saved by Aarnikan.

With Sri Lanka pushing their goalkeeper forward in search of goals, Abir Hossain capitalised in the 38th minute, firing into an empty net from inside his own half to complete the rout.