Bangladesh clean sweep Bhutan in Women’s FIFA friendlies 2-0

South Asian champions Bangladesh swept away Bhutan in the two FIFA (Tier-1) Women’s International Friendlies by 2-0 after they bagged 4-2 goals win over the hosts in the second and last match on Saturday. 

Coming from 0-2 goals behind, Bangladesh scored four goals in a row to earn the day’s victory, courtesy of a second-half brace by midfielder Ritu Porna Chakma. 

Ritu Porna scored in the 62nd and 86th minutes to seal the fate of the match after captain Sabina Khatun and Mst Sagorika levelled the margin scoring one each in the 34th and 40th minutes.

Bhutan’s Deki Lhazom earlier scored twice to take a 2-0 lead for the hosts in the 14th and 21st minutes respectively.  

Earlier, coming from 0-1 goal behind, the touring side crushed the hosts by 5-1 goals, courtesy of a hat-trick by substitute forward Mst Sagorika, in the first match at the same venue on Thursday. 

Sagorika, who came as a substitute, scored an equaliser at the beginning of the second half to ruin Bhutan’s Pema Choden Tshering’s first-half lead. 

Captain Sabina and Ritu Porna added one each within a span of six-minute to seal the fate of the match while Sagorika scored back-to-back two goals to confirm her hat-trick. 

Bangladesh are playing the friendlies against Bhutan as a part of their preparation for the upcoming SAFF Women’s Championship 2024, scheduled to be held at the Dasharath Rangasala in Kathmandu, Nepal on 17-30 October.

The champions had been placed in the three-team Group A of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2024 with India and Pakistan while the four-team Group B comprises runners-up Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan.