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SAFF Football: Pak, Nepal match ends in 1-1 draw

Dunya News

Nepal has entered the SAFF football championship semifinals while Pakistan is near to elimination.

Nepal became the first team to enter the semifinals of the SAFF Championship as they drew 1-1 with Pakistan in a Group B match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.Bharat Khawas scored in the 37th minute to give Nepal the lead before a Samar Ishaq penalty, early in the second half levelled the scores. Pakistan were unable to get the all-important second goal as the match ended with the scores unchanged.With two draws and a win against Bangladesh, Nepal have secured their place in the last four of the competition. Pakistan however have drawn all three of their matches and must await the result of the match between Bangladesh and Maldives to know their fate. A win for either team in their match would eliminate Pakistan from the competition.In the first half, both teams started cautiously and were trying to look for gaps in either defence. In the 12th minute, Nepal captain Sagar Thapa sent a free kick from inside his own half towards Pakistans penalty box, where Santhosh Shahu Khala volleyed it directly towards the keeper, who had an easy save to make.Some early yellow cards were dished out as Pakistans Samar Ishaq and Jumanu Rai of Nepal got booked for pushing each other. The in the 16th minute, there were appeals for a penalty as Thapa tackled Pakistans Jadeed Khan Pathan in the penalty box, but the referee signalled a clean tackle.Then Nepal got a free kick 35 yards out and Sagar Thapa, who scored a long range free kick against Bangladesh, tried the same but Jafar Khan was alert and plucked the ball out of the air.Nepal then took the lead in the 37th minute as Raju Tamang took a corner from the right. Bharat Khawas, who was stationed at the far post, scissor kicked the ball into the roof of the net from six yards. The scores stayed 1-0 till the end of the half.In the second half, Pakistan made a substitution as Faisal Iqbal came in for Jadeed. They got their equalizer in the 49th minute. Nepals Sandip Rai fouled Kaleem Khan in the penalty box and Samar Ishaq sent the ball to the keepers right, who got a hand to it but could not keep it out.In the 60th minute there was a clash of heads as Nepals Rabin Shrestha collided with Muhammed Rizwan Asif. Play had to be stopped for five minutes and Manzaoor Ahmed came in for the injured Rizwan Asif, who dislocated his right shoulder. Shrestha got a yellow card for his troubles as he got substituted for Bikash Singh Chhetri.More substitutions were made by both teams but the scores were deadlocked at one-a-piece. Pakistan conceded a free kick just outside the penalty box and Sandip Rai hit the left-hand post from the resulting free kick as Jafar Khan was rooted to the spot.Then six minutes of added time were awarded, but Nepal managed to hold on to the draw as the referee blew the whistle for full time.Nepal coach Graham Roberts said he was delighted that the team qualified for the semifinals. We are in the semifinals and that was our aim at the beginning of the tournament. Now we have three days to recover before our next match, he added.Pakistan coach Zavisa Milosavljevic was still hopeful of a semifinal berth despite the odds stacked against them. Our boys came with very less practice, but still have performed well. We have to play more international friendlies to improve the quality of football, he said.He also praised the Nepal team saying, Nepal are very good from defence to attack and they played well.TEAMSPAKISTAN: Jafar Khan, Muhammed Rizwan Asif (Manzaoor Ahmed, 65th), Muhammed Ahmed, Kaleem Ullah, Saddam Hussai, Samar Ishaq, Atif Bashir Qureshi, Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Muhammad Adil, 80th), Jadeed Khan Pathan (Faisal Iqbal, 46th), Hasnain Abbas, Kamran Khan.NEPAL: Kiran Kumar Limbu, Rabin Shrestha (Bikash Singh Chhetri, 67th), Biraj Maharjan, Bijay Garung (Bhola Nath Silwal, 78th), Santhosh Shahu Khala, Jumanu Rai (Anil Gurung, 91st), Sandip Rai, Raju Tamang, Sagar Thapa, Bharat Khawas, Rohit Chand.Referee: Nagor Aamir (Malaysia)
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