SAFF Championship: Bhutan 0-3 Bangladesh: Bangladesh end tournament on a high

The Bengal tigers beat ten man Bhutan 3-0 with goals in either half

The penultimate group stage fixture of the South Asian Football Championship (SAFF) 2015 featured Bangladesh beating Bhutan 3-0 in a well contested game.

Bhutan made four changes as K. Nidup, K. Tshering, Tshering Dorji and L. Dorji made way for T. Dorji, T. Wangdi, D. Subba and L. Dawa.

Bangladesh on the other hand had just two changes in order as N. Nasir and N. Newaj came into the side for R. Hasan and M. Zahid Hossain.

Both sides made aggressive alterations to their starting XIs and it had an immediate impact on proceedings as there were plenty of chances generated at either end in the first five minutes.

Bangladesh broke the deadlock in the eight minute as Topu Burman headed the ball in from point blank range. Mamun's corner found Yeasin on the far post who set up an easy header for the defender to nod it in. Bangladesh had their tails up nice and early.

The Bengal Tigers doubled their lead though a penalty after Shakawat Rony was brought down in the box. Chimi Dorji was sent off despite the foul being committed by Jigme. It seemed like a case of mistaken identity by the referee or perhaps Chimi was sent off for his reaction to his decision of awarding the penalty.

At the end of the first half, the score line read 2-0 to Bangladesh.

The second half started and continued at a slower tempo than proceedings in the first.

Bangladesh looked keen on adding to Bhutan’s misery and were successful in the 67th minute as Shakawat Rony doubled his tally.

A long ball from deep found him with 35 yards to run at goal, his burst of pace placed him in front of goal and the forward made no mistake in slotting it past the onrushing goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

Most of the remainder of the tie was played at a snail's pace with Bhutan’s forward Chencho trying to speed things up for his side. Bangladesh had a few chances in the end courtesy of substitutes Jewel and Sohail Rana, but could not put the ball in the back of the net.

The referee’s final whistle meant both sides bowed out of the tournament, but Bangladesh grabbed bragging rights on the evening. It finished 3-0 to the Bengal Tigers after a valiant display.