Shamsunnahar hattrick takes Bangladesh to SAFF U-20 Women's Championship final

Skipper Shamsunnahar Jr. slammed a brilliant hattrick as Bangladesh set the final clash with Nepal in the SAFF U-20 Women's Championship thrashing lowly Bhutan by 5-0 goals held today (Tuesday) evening at Birshreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in the city's Kamalapur.

The final of the championship will be held on Thursday (February 9) at the same venue at 6 pm.

Earlier, in the day's first match, Nepal confirmed their spot in the final upsetting favorite India by 3-1 goals.

With the day's win, Bangladesh reached the top of the point table with seven points from three matches while Bhutan is yet to open their account playing the same number of outings.

In the proceeding, Shamsunnahar Jr. scored hattrick with three goals while she was well supported by Aklima Khatun who netted two goals for Bangladesh in the one-sided affairs.

Bangladesh began to dominate the play and took the lead in the 22nd minute. Skipper Shamsunnahar Jr. after receiving the ball at the left flank ran down and provided a cross to Aklima Khatun who made no mistake to send the ball home ball from close range after dodging past three Bhutanese defenders.

Shamsunnahar Jr. doubled the lead for Bangladesh in the 30th minute with a perfect header from inside the danger zone after utilizing a corner kick of Aklima Khatun from the left flank.

Back with a healthy 2-0 lead, Bangladesh started the second half and continued their onslaught and this time Shamsunnahar Jr. again struck on Bhutan tent. Taking a pass from midfield she ran down and sent the ball to the net with a perfect placing shot from the top of the D box in the 53rd minute.

Aklima made the score line 4-0 with a perfect left-footed shot from inside the danger zone in the 60th minute while Shamsunnahar Jr. completed her hattrick goal scoring the fifth goal for Bangladesh in the 61st minute of the match.

Bangladesh dominated the entire proceeding and notched their deserving victory on the day while Bhutan, who had already been eliminated from the competition race, were totally off-colored as they failed to produce any real move.

Earlier, Bangladesh made a winning start in the championship beating Nepal by 3-1 goals, and played to a goalless draw with India in their second match.

On the other hand, Bhutan tasted a 0-12 defeat to India in their opening match and suffered a 0-4 defeat to Nepal in their second match.
 
Before the start of two matches of the day, the first match India-Nepal match and the second match Bangladesh-Bhutan, the players observed one-minute silence in memory of those who perished in the February 6 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.