Piash's brace sinks defending champions as Bangladesh beat India by 2-1 in SAFF U-20 Championship
The visitors tormented India with swift breaks and their crosses from the wide areas.
Piash Ahmed bagged a brace to guide Bangladesh to a 2-1 win over the hosts and the defending champions India in the SAFF U-20 Championship in Bhubaneswar, India on Wednesday.
India started the game really well, producing some highly entertaining football and looking sharp. However, Bangladesh soon identified their defensive weaknesses and troubled them with counter-attacks as well as pinpoint crosses into the box. The visitors tormented India with swift breaks and their crosses from the wide areas.
They were gifted the first goal because of some miscommunication within the Indian backline, helping Md Piash Nova score into an empty net in the 29th minute.
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India equalized soon after through a smart header from Gurkirat Singh, but the visitors reclaimed the lead just before half-time thanks to a penalty from Piash after sloppy defending.
The hosts struggled to play with the same energy and vigour in the second half, failing to trouble the visitors or claw any points.
Bangladesh's Akkas Ali had to be stretched out after suffering a knock in the 79th minute.
Earlier, Bangladesh got off to a winning start as they beat Sri Lanka by a 1–0 goal in their opening match. They will play their next match against Nepal on Friday.
A total of five countries of the South Asian sub-continent including Bangladesh are taking part in this competition. The prestigious tournament is scheduled to conclude on 5th August 2022.
