Mukhtar Nasser’s goal three minutes from time was enough to break Indian hearts as Maldives were crowned as the new South Asian champions at the Sughathadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka.
The depleted Indian side didn’t look at its best and Maldives were certainly the better team of the night. Maldives had the best chance of the first half when Ahmed Thoriq’s header hit the vertical bar.
Ranked six places below India in the latest FIFA rankings, Maldives played on par with the defending champions and took charge of the game.
The second half saw a surcharged Maldivian side who repeatedly probed into the opposition’s half and were often denied by the heroics of goalkeeper Subrata Pal. Ali Ashfaq and Nasser were the most offensive players for the eventual winners as India’s defence was in sixes and sevens.
The 87th minute saw a powerful 25 yarder from Nasser which beat the Indian custodian and sent the crowd into madness. The dying minutes saw a few more chances fall their way but weren’t finished clinically.
This was a sweet revenge for the co-hosts after having lost 0-1 to India earlier in the tournament. This is Maldives’ maiden SAFF Cup victory.
India sorely missed the services of it’s wingers – Steven Dias and Renedy Singh as their replacements – Bungo Singh and makeshift medio Samir Naik weren’t upto the mark. Manjit Singh who came on for the last 20 minutes didn’t impress either.
Source: kr.goal.com
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