Bangladesh began a winning start in their SAFF Championship campaign as the men in red and green beat Sri Lanka 1-0 at the National Stadium in the Maldives on Friday.
Neither Bangladesh nor Sri Lankan team scored a goal in the first half. Jamal Bhuiyan could not break the Lankan defense fort. In the second half, Bangladesh saw the goal in the match.
The veteran centre-back, who forced a fingertip save from Sri Lanka goalkeeper Sujan Perera at the stroke of half-time, converted the penalty calmly after Sri Lanka defender Duckson Puslas handled the ball inside the box on a chip from Biplo Ahmed.
Duckson, who was cautioned with a yellow card in the first half for a reckless challenge, was given marching orders after the incident as Bangladesh took the lead and played the rest of the game with numerical superiority.
Bangladesh will face seven-time India in their next game on Monday at the same venue.