Maldives and Afghanistan sealed the two semifinal spots from group B with 3-1 and 3-0 wins over Bangladesh and Bhutan in the SAFF Suzuki Cup.
Maldives in a hard fought win
Maldives sealed qualification into the semifinal after a hard fought 3-1 victory over Bangladesh.
Maldives started the game well but a second half fight put up by the Bengal tigers had their defence worried particularly in the last few minutes.
A handball by Waly Faisal inside the box allowed Ali Ashfaq to convert the resulting spot kick. The captain of Maldives who is playing his last SAFF Suzuki Cup increased his tally to two goals in two games.
The defence panicked when Bangladesh equalized through Hemonta Biswas after Topu Barman’s shot got deflected inside the box but two last minute goals by substitutes Hassan Naiz and Ahmed Nashid restored Maldives lead and sealed their win.
Bangladesh did get time on the ball at times in the first half, and when they did they countered.
In the 11th minute, Zahid Hossain had a glorious chance to take the lead for Bangladesh after he was played in to the box but his shot could only find the side netting.
Bangladesh were growing into the game and were becoming dangerous in the attacking third causing the Maldives defense to panic.
At first a header from Hossain in the 25th minute that was cleared on the line and then a cross back into the box from an over hit corner that found an unmarked Shakawath Rony inside the box who could not get his shot away properly.
The opening goal of the match came 4 minutes from half time.
The Bangladesh domination was short-lived as a shot from Imaaz Ahmed struck the hand of Waly Faisal inside the box for the referee to award a penalty to Maldives in the 41st minute.
Ali Ashfaq stepped up to take the spot kick and scored his second goal of the tournament.
Bangladesh pushed for an equalizer after the restart at the expense of leaving gaps open at the back.
In the 53rd minute, Hemonta Biswas played a superb cross into the box that could only be headed wide by Mamunun Mamun.
Maruful Haque brought on Newaj Jibon in place of Jamal Bhuyan in an attacking change with 20 minutes to go.
And the substitution seemed to have worked as Bangladesh started exerting pressure on the Maldives backline.
Shekawat Rony’s shot was inches away from threatening the goal after he was wonderfully put through on goal in the 74th minute.
Bangladesh looked like they were back in the game when Topu Barman’s shot was deflected into the net in the 87thminute but Maldives pushed on in the final minutes of the game and the substitutes Hassan Naiz latched onto a cross from the right a minute later to restore their lead.
Ahmed Nashid struck the back of the net right after Naiz scored after a loose ball found him alone in front of goal for him to place the final nail in the coffin.
Afghans eases past Bhutan
Afghanistan booked their place in the semifinal with a 3-0 win over a struggling Bhutan.
In a match that saw the defending champions pick up where they left off against Bangladesh, Bhutan struggled to match the pace and intensity of their counterparts.
A Masih Saighani header sandwiched between Khaibar Amani brace gave Afghanistan the win they needed.
With three goals in the tournament, Amani is currently the top scorer of SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015.
The defending champions did not have to wait for too long to open the scoring as Amiri’s pass in the 15thminute found the overlapping Hassan Amin who crossed it into the box for Khaibar Amani to toe it into the net.
Noraollah Amiri was through on goal a minute later courtesy of a defense splitting pass from midfield but the defender was able to get to the ball first, leaving the left sided forward on the ground in pain from the challenge.
In the 22nd minute, Chencho Gyeltshen showed a glimpse of his brilliance as he took on the Afghan defender using his skill before beating him with pace but his cross into the box was a poor one.
Afghanistan doubled their lead through Masih Saighani’s header on the stroke of halftime after Taher’ set piece from the left found the defender in the centre of the box.
It was only a matter of time before the third goal came and Khaibar Amani rose the highest in the box in the 53rd minute to head the ball home from Norollah Amiri’s corner.
3-0 up and the defending champions were cruising.
A mistake by the Bhutan defence allowed Noraollah Amiri to burst through on goal in the 85th minute and the forward’s shot missed the post by inches.
Bhutan couldn’t trouble the Afghanistan midfielders or defense towards the end and the match ended 3-0 to the defending champions, who’ve now scored 7 goals in their first two games and conceded none.
