Sports
‘Lucky’ Nepal edge Bangladesh
A ‘lucky’ Nepal defeated Bangladesh 2-1 to head into the first Saff Championship semi-finals as Group ‘A’ winners here at the Anfa complex in Satdobato on Monday.A ‘lucky’ Nepal defeated Bangladesh 2-1 to head into the first Saff Championship semi-finals as Group ‘A’ winners here at the Anfa complex in Satdobato on Monday.
With two consecutive victories, Nepal finished three-team Group ‘A’ as winners with six points. Bangladesh ended up second with three points. Winless Bhutan were already eliminated from the league stage. Nepal will now take on Group ‘B’ runners-up, which is yet to be decided.
Afghanistan, Maldives and tournament favourites India are in the race for the semi-finals from Group ‘B’. India and Afghanistan have three points each. India’s final group stage match against Maldives on Tuesday will decided the Group ‘B’ winners and runners-up. Maldives can still qualify if they defeat India by three-goal margin.
Skipper Bimal Gharti Magar inspired Nepal to a 3-1 win over Bhutan in their opener and on Monday they rode on their luck to beat Bangladesh. After Bangladesh stunned the home crowd through Rohit Sarkar goal in the 11th minute, Nepal hit back with a penalty from Anjan Bista. As a draw loomed, an own goal at the stroke of the final whistle secured victory for Nepal. Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan admitted that his team was lucky to secure all three points. “Both of our goals came from the set pieces but at the end of the day victory counts,” said Maharjan.
The buzzing crowd at the limited seating capacity Anfa Complex was silenced when a defensive lapse from Nepal allowed Bangladesh to take an early lead. Mannaf Rabby fed a long ball to unmarked Sarkar at the edge of the area and, with enough time and space, the forward made no mistake with a grounded shot out of goalkeeper Sojit Gurung’s reach.
Gharti Magar, was close to leveling the scores only for his header to be brilliantly punched out by Bangladesh goalie Anisur Rahman. But luck was with Nepal when a cross from the left by Bishwas Shrestha in the 17th minute found the hands of a Bangladeshi defender inside the area prompting referee R Venkatesh to point at the spot. Bista stepped in and sent Rahman the wrong way to bring Nepal back in the game.
Nepal pressed hard for another goal in the closing stages of the game and Bangladesh finally succumbed to the pressure
with an own goal. A freekick from Sunil Bal was first cleared by Rahman before Tamang headed the ball to Mohammad Tutul Hosain, who inadvertently hit the ball into his own nets.
Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Tutu was satisfied with the team’s performance. “We were unfortunate to concede an own goal but we still have a chance to win the tournament. We were better today than we were against Bhutan,” said Tutu.