Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 2-0 to secure a semi-final berth in the SAFF Women’s  Championship at the Shahid Rangashala in Biratnagar on Thursday.

The outcome also meant Nepal, who beat Bhutan 3-0 on Tuesday, joined Bangladesh in the last four from three-team Group ‘A’. Bhutan are out of the tournament with two defeats in two games. The last Group ‘A’ match between Nepal and Bangladesh on Saturday will decide the pool winners. Nepal stands atop the table on goals superiority.

After a goalless first half, rejuvenated Bangladesh struck twice to dump Bhutan out of the competition. Despite dominating the show and putting Bhutan under pressure, Bangladesh failed to break the deadlock before the interval. It took Bangladesh just a minute after resumption to take the lead as vice captain Most Mishrat Jahan Moushumiand scored for them. Bangladesh sealed their victory as skipper Sabina Khatun added the second five minutes from time in a solo effort.

“I was not disappointed despite our team failing to score in the first half as we were dictating the game. I urged players to continue with the same momentum after the break,” said Bangladeshi coach Golam Robbani Choton. “Our persistence finally told in the second half as we were able to breach the Butanese defence twice,” said Robbani. Bhutan’s Korean coach Sung Jea Lee was satisfies by his team’s performance despite losing the match. “We were much better against Bangladesh than they were against Nepal on Tuesday. We let in two needless goals and lost the match,” Lee said.

After squandering quite a number of chances, Bangladesh struck in the first minute after restart when Moushami’s header from the crowded zone in Monika Chakma corner kissed the net.

Bhutan’s first and only real attempt on goal came in the 73rd minute as Dorji Edon’s overhead kick in Sonam Choden corner sailed inches above the bar. Bangladesh doubled their advantage in the 85th minute thanks to the individual brilliance as skipper Khatun rounded up two defenders, beat goalie Monger before firing in the goal. Khatun almost widened the winning margin in the stoppage time but her tap-in effort went agonisingly wide of the target.

Standings

Teams    P     W     D     L     GF    GA     PTS

Nepal    1    1    0    0    3    0    3

Bangladesh    1    1    0    0    2    0    3

Bhutan    2    0    0    2    0    5    0