Bangladesh smash 7 past Turkmenistan

Bangladesh team had reserved their celebration of clinching Asian Cup berth till the last match of the campaign. On Saturday, against Turkmenistan, they celebrated the epic achievement with a resounding 7-0 victory, ending the Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign with an all-win record at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon.

Turkmenistan (141), on paper, were the weakest team of the group, 13 places below Bangladesh. But Bangladesh's comprehensive wins against higher-ranked Bahrain and Myanmar had already proved that rankings can be deceptive. However, there was hardly any doubt about the outcome of the game – the only matter of speculation was how big the margin of victory would be.

And soon as the match kicked off, it became clear that it was going to be a one-way traffic as the side from Central Asia hardly had an answer to what Bangladesh were throwing at them. The goalfest started in the third minute, thanks to a thunderous strike from Sapna Rani Mondal from outside the box.

The Central Asian side were hit by the eye of a storm over the next 17 minutes as Bangladesh smashed five more goals, with Shamsunnahar Jr bagging a brace while Monika Chakma, Tohura Khatun and Ritu Porna Chakma getting one apiece.

The fifth goal from Ritu Porna in the 18th minute was a disaster as the ball slipped through the goalkeeper's grasp, warranting a change of keeper. However, life for Turkmenistan's second-choice keeper didn't start well as she conceded a goal a minute after being subbed in.
There was a lull of 20 minutes as Bangladesh failed to increase the margin before Ritu Porna's trademark left-footed curler from outside the box found the top-right corner of goal.

While there was anticipation among the Bangladesh fans of a likely breach of Bangladesh's biggest victory -- a 9-0 win against Bhutan in Cox's bazar in 2010, Turkmenistan came out with a much more disciplined performance after the break to keep the women in red and green at bay. They successfully blocked the passing channels in the final third as Bangladesh, with Ritu Porna and Sapna Rani both subbed out early in the second half, found it hard to break the final hurdle.

The substitute keeper, too, put in a much better performance as the scoreline remained unchanged but Bangladesh were happy to go to the dugout with a convincing win and start their long-waited celebration.