Bangladesh surrender two-goal lead in Maldives draw

Favourites Bangladesh began their SAFF Under-19 Championship campaign on a disappointing note, surrendering a two-goal lead to settle for a 2-2 draw against Maldives in their Group A opener at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Arunachal Pradesh, India, today.

Captain Nazmul Huda Faysal and Rifat Kazi each found the net in the first half, giving Bangladesh a promising advantage. However, Maldives struck back through Anoof Abdulla and Ethan Ibrahim, who scored in the second-half to deny Golam Rabbani Choton's side a winning start.

Bangladesh dominated possession from the outset and created numerous scoring opportunities. They went ahead in the 13th minute when Faysal unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box, shortly after Samuel Raksan missed an open net.

Rifat, who had earlier driven a shot wide after nutmegging a defender in the 25th minute, doubled the lead with a header on the stroke of half-time.

The second half, however, was a different story. The Bangladeshi defence struggled to cope with Maldives' incisive forward passes. Abdulla reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, and Ibrahim equalised with a low left-footed effort in the 73rd.

Bangladesh will face Bhutan in their second and final group match on Sunday.