AFC Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers: Bhutan 0-2 Maldives

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Fasir opened the scoring, converting from the spot in the 42nd minute after a spell of early dominance from the hosts, before defender Abdullah settled the affair with a neat tap-in in the 74th minute.

The opening half an hour of the match was a cagey affair but the hosts, who were thrashed by Oman 14-0 in their opening match, looked the more enterprising.

The first real chance, though, came to the Maldives when they earned a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Fasir’s effort sailed over the crossbar.

Darren Stewart’s side, who lost their opening game 3-0 at home against Palestine, slowly started threatening the Bhutan goal, with Asadullah Abdullah’s volley missing the target in the 34th minute.

The pressure eventually paid off as Bhutan’s Tenzin Dorji pushed Fasir from behind following a throw-in four minutes before the break and Fasir stepped up to confidently slot the resulting penalty into the top right corner.

The second half was a livelier affair as the home side pressed for the equaliser, and they should have pulled level on 54 minutes when a beautiful through-ball from skipper Karma Tshering found Chencho Gyeltshen, but Chencho hit the ball straight at Maldives goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal.

Fasir’s curling effort from outside the box was acrobatically parried away by Bhutan goalkeeper Hari Gurung on 67 minutes while at the other end Karma Tshering’s left-footed curler whisked just over the crossbar.

Then came the decisive moment as Abdullah took the game away from the hosts with a second goal on 74 minutes, the centre-back stabingd home after Hamza Mohamed’s tireless work down the right flank.