Forward Sheikh Morsalin scored a lone goal as Bangladesh beat hosts Bhutan by 1-0 goal in the first FIFA Int’l Friendly match held at Changlimithang Football Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan on Thursday.

Bangladesh had to wait a little time to take the lead in the proceeding.

Forward Morsalin sent the ball to the net with a push when the ball came to his way after Bhutan custodian failed to grip the ball following cross taken by Rakib Hossain from the right wing.

Bhutan got a chance to restore the parity in the 19th minute when defender Yeshey’s header from inside the Box narrowly went out of play beside the left side bar.

After the resumption, Bhutan were desperate to fight back in the match. They came close to score in the 75th minute but onrushing substitute midfielder Pradhan failed to connect the ball from the close range.

Bangladesh got another scoring chance in the dying moment, but Bhutan custodian efficiently foiled the powerful long range shot taken by substitute forward Rahul from the left wing.

Though the Jamal Bhuyan and co. started with a win in the two match series but did not play very good football as their accordingly. Being out of competitive football for three months, the performance of the Bangladesh footballers were quite average. The winning goal also came fortunately for Bangladesh. Sheikh Morsalin took advantage of the mistakes of the Bhutanese goalkeeper.

In the whole proceeding, Bangladesh failed to create pressure on Bhutan while the number of shots on target was very low while the height of Thimphu was also a cause for concern for Bangladesh team.

The hosts were supposed to put Bangladesh under pressure, but they also failed reign on the field completely, especially in the first half.
The second and ultimate match between the two sides will be held on Sunday (Sept 8) at the same venue. BSS