SAFF Cup: India Beat Nepal To Clinch Semi Spot

The India U-23 team qualified for the semi final of the SAFF Cup, courtesy of a hard fought 1-0 win over Nepal.

Dec 8, 2009 1:18:44 AM

More On :  India, Nepal
Indian Tricolour

The India U-23 team have managed to qualify for the semi finals of the ongoing SAFF Cup, courtesy of yet another unconvincing 1-0 win over impressive Nepal.
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India came into the match knowing that a win would take them to the last four.

Nepal on the other hand knew that they needed to win this match in order to keep their destiny in their own hand. The Bangabandhu National Stadium seemed to be filled with Nepalese support.

The first ten minutes made one think of the match against Afghanistan where neither side managed to string together more than a couple of passes for the entire game. India were very lucky to win that match and there was a sense of déjà vu.

But things got better soon enough as both teams started playing on the ground and looking to play the one-twos and through balls. India were mixing the long ball play and short passes pretty well but Nepal seemed more threatening as all their players were nippy and good in possession.

The Indians were considerably taller than the Nepalese and therefore tried to get a few long balls into the box.

But Bikash Malla, the Nepali goalkeeper was in a very confident mood and came off his line early and collected everything. Nepal too put long balls up front but mainly because the Indian defense were playing a very high line.

Anil Gurung was chasing down everything and forced the Indian defenders into conceding corners a couple of times. The Indians though dealt with set pieces very comfortably.

The first real chance of the match fell to India when Balwant Singh went down at the edge of the penalty area after being fouled by a Nepal defender. 

Robert Lalthamuana stepped up to take the free kick and hit a thunderbolt, unfortunately close enough for the keeper to get a hand.

The ball however remained in play, and as quite a few players went up to challenge for the aerial ball it hit the crossbar and came into play again.

This time Malla mistiming his jump and getting a hand to it only managing to put it into his own net. India were ahead in 17 minutes.

After the goal though Nepal stepped on the gas. The nimble footed Nepalese players were making life difficult for the Indian youngsters as they kept the ball well and were looking for an opening. But for all their possession, Nepal were finding it difficult to make things happen in the final third.

On 35 minutes though, Nepal caught India napping and took a quick free kick followed by an early cross. Anil Gurung found himself with ample space and time but put his header was just over the bar.

Almost immediately, India mounted an attack, Abranches sent in a cross which Malla came out to collect and missed. Sushil Kumar couldn’t react quick enough and the defenders cleared. 

Abranches then got himself booked for a silly challenge and will now miss the game against Maldives. At the stroke of half time, India conceded a free kick at the edge of the box. Sagar Thapa stepped up to take it and missed the target by a whisker. India went into the break with a 1-0 lead.

The second half started just like the first one with Nepal hitting the ground running. They piled up immense pressure on the Indian defense but India seemed content to soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter attack.

The game went into a hibernating state as both teams struggled to make any clear opportunity to score. Nepal had most of the possession but still did not manage shots on target.

Indians on the other hand already seemed content defending the lead rather than go for a second. Making a positive move though, Sukhwinder Singh brought on Jeje, the man who scored the winner against Afghanistan.

However the pace and tempo of the game remained the same as the Nepalese players started getting frustrated and a few tackles started flying in.

On 80 minutes, Nepal’s center midfielders played some beautiful touches among themselves before playing Gurung through.

But Rowilson Rodrigues made a spectacular last ditch tackle inside the box to deny Gurung a shot at goal. That proved to be the last clear cut opportunity of the match as India held on comfortably to snatch yet another narrow win.

Sukhwinder and co. might not be too pleased with the attacking ability of the Indian youngsters but their organization has got them through to the semi finals. This is where the real test starts.

Goalscorers: Bikash Malla own goal (Nepal) 17'

Venkatesha Sharma
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