Holders Maldives forced to share points
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Defending champions Maldives found spirited Nepal a hard nut to crack as they were forced to share points after their engagement ended in an exciting 1-1 draw on the second day of the Bangabandhu SAFF Football Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city Saturday, reports BSS.
Both teams failed to break the stalemate in the Group A encounter at the breather.
It was the Maldivians who surprisingly looked jaded and took time to settle whereas the Nepalese in their turn threatened to take an early initiative.
Early in the sixth minute, Nepalese midfielder Rohit Chad dribbled past a host of rival defenders only to see his fierce shot just go wide with the Maldivian goalkeeper well-beaten.
The Maldives on their turn took a long time to settle and in the 36th minute managed to put pressure on the Nepalese defence when Ibrahim Fazeel's thunderous shot was brilliantly parried by the diving Nepalese custodian Bikash Malla.
It was in the second half, both teams showed real inclination to break the deadlock and the Nepalese strikers twice came very close to opening their account. Fleet-footed Chetan Ghimire twice saw his shots fail to beat Maldivian custodian Mohammed Imran.
Nepal pressed very hard in the second period leaving a yawning gap that allowed Maldives to take a surprise lead from a counterattack in the 61st minute.
Ashfan Ahmed floated a gem of a cross finding unmarked Ahmed Thoriq, who in turn keeping cool dodged past the Nepalese custodian and pushed the ball with no one to challenge (1-0).
Nepal did not had to wait long to restore the parity. In the 69th minute, Yogesh Shresta's measured cross found Jumanu Rai well inside the box, who had no difficulty in beating the Maldivian goalie (1-1).
Maldives were lucky to salvage a point as Anil Gurung's fierce shot just from outside the box was brilliantly saved by Maldivian goal tender Imran for a corner in the dying seconds of the match.
Teams:
Maldives: Mohamed Imran, Ashfan Ahmed, Umair Mohamed, Ibrahim Sobah Mohamed, Jameel Mohamed, Gasim Shamweel, Naseer MuktarArif Mohamed, Fazeel Ibrahim, Ashfaq Ali, Ahmed, Thoriq.
Nepal: Ju Manu Rai, Chetan Ghimire, Sandip Rai, Raju Tamang, Anjan KC, Bijay Gurung, Bikash Malla, Biraj Maharjan, Rohit Chand, Sagar Thapa, Anil Gurung.
Referee: Abdul Hannan Miron (Bangladesh).
Both teams failed to break the stalemate in the Group A encounter at the breather.
It was the Maldivians who surprisingly looked jaded and took time to settle whereas the Nepalese in their turn threatened to take an early initiative.
Early in the sixth minute, Nepalese midfielder Rohit Chad dribbled past a host of rival defenders only to see his fierce shot just go wide with the Maldivian goalkeeper well-beaten.
The Maldives on their turn took a long time to settle and in the 36th minute managed to put pressure on the Nepalese defence when Ibrahim Fazeel's thunderous shot was brilliantly parried by the diving Nepalese custodian Bikash Malla.
It was in the second half, both teams showed real inclination to break the deadlock and the Nepalese strikers twice came very close to opening their account. Fleet-footed Chetan Ghimire twice saw his shots fail to beat Maldivian custodian Mohammed Imran.
Nepal pressed very hard in the second period leaving a yawning gap that allowed Maldives to take a surprise lead from a counterattack in the 61st minute.
Ashfan Ahmed floated a gem of a cross finding unmarked Ahmed Thoriq, who in turn keeping cool dodged past the Nepalese custodian and pushed the ball with no one to challenge (1-0).
Nepal did not had to wait long to restore the parity. In the 69th minute, Yogesh Shresta's measured cross found Jumanu Rai well inside the box, who had no difficulty in beating the Maldivian goalie (1-1).
Maldives were lucky to salvage a point as Anil Gurung's fierce shot just from outside the box was brilliantly saved by Maldivian goal tender Imran for a corner in the dying seconds of the match.
Teams:
Maldives: Mohamed Imran, Ashfan Ahmed, Umair Mohamed, Ibrahim Sobah Mohamed, Jameel Mohamed, Gasim Shamweel, Naseer MuktarArif Mohamed, Fazeel Ibrahim, Ashfaq Ali, Ahmed, Thoriq.
Nepal: Ju Manu Rai, Chetan Ghimire, Sandip Rai, Raju Tamang, Anjan KC, Bijay Gurung, Bikash Malla, Biraj Maharjan, Rohit Chand, Sagar Thapa, Anil Gurung.
Referee: Abdul Hannan Miron (Bangladesh).