Bangladesh continued their impressive run in the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers 2018 as they edged Maldives 1-0 in their second match of the campaign in Hisor, Tajikistan Thursday.
The scoreline however, flattered Maldives as the junior Bengal Tigers dominated the entire game.
Only a lack of finishing prowess, and some last-ditch Maldives defending, denied Bangladesh from scoring more goals.
Jafar Iqbal and Co stitched together one attack after another but the all-important goal only arrived in the 92nd minute, courtesy an own goal from Mahbubur Rahman.
Bangladesh had earlier held host and favourite Tajikistan to a goalless draw at the same venue Tuesday.
They will take on powerhouse Uzbekistan Monday before concluding their campaign against Sri Lanka Wednesday.
The teams are vying for the 14 berths still up for grabs in the tournament.
China, who won Group G in Phnom Penh last week, have already sealed qualification.
The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams advance to the finals alongside host Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan showed they are one of the favourites to seal a berth in the finals by opening their Group B qualifying campaign with a 10-0 win over Sri Lanka.
The loss was a big blow for Sri Lanka, who had salvaged a point in added-on time against Maldives on matchday one.
Striker Abdusalomov was Uzbekistan's hero as he hit four goals, the first of which was struck in the third minute.
It was a blow Sri Lanka were not going to recover from as midfielder Izzatov doubled Uzbekistan's lead in the 11th minute.
Kenjabaev Islom made it 3-0 in the 18th and three minutes later, Abdusalomov scored his second as Sri Lanka struggled to control the tide of goals.
There was to be no respite, though, as Islom was on target again in the 25th minute before Uzbekistan took their foot off the pedal for the remainder of the first half.
Aware that goals could prove crucial in the battle for top spot in the group, Uzbekistan came into the second half with renewed vigour and were rewarded in the 63rd minute as Zokirov scored their sixth.
He quickly followed that up with his second four minutes later before Abdusalomov notched his hat-trick in the 78th minute.
Sri Lanka were powerless to stop Uzbekistan, who rounded off their day with further strikes from Mozgovoy (83rd minute) and Abdusalomov (89th minute).
Up next for Uzbekistan are Maldives Saturday while Sri Lanka will meet Tajikistan.
RESULTS
Kyrgyzstan 0 3 Oman
Nepal 0 4 Bahrain
Sri Lanka 0 10 Uzbekistan
Maldives 0 1 Bangladesh
Indonesia 5 0 Timor-Leste
Brunei 0 11 South Korea
Leave a Comment