India to meet Nepal in final

India to meet Nepal in final

KATHMANDU, JUL 29 -

Heavyweights India survived Afghanistan scare as they squeezed to the final of the Second SAFF U-16 Football Championship with a 4-3 shootout victory at Nepal Army ground on Sunday. The teams were tied without a score in the regulation time.      

India will now take on hosts Nepal in what promises to be an exhilarating final at Dasharath Stadium on Tuesday. With the scores tied at 4-3 in the shootout, Afghanistan’s Rezahi Mortaza shot into the right post, igniting a raucous celebrations in the Indian camp.  India recovered from an inauspicious start, with Krishna Pandit lifting his shot over the bar, to secure their second consecutive final of the competition.    

Bedashwor Singh, Prosenjit Chakraborty, Surya Tirkey and Aaron Franklyn, who followed Pandit, were on target for India, while Atiqulallah Waziri, Nasar Ahmad Nekzad and Sardari Amanulla found the back of the net for Afghanistan.

Indian coach Goutam Ghosh was all praise for his team’s tight defence, but was  taken aback by his strikers.

“We were kept under pressure for most part of the match. Our boys at the back weathered the storm, defending really well. But our strikers seemed worn out today. We’ve got to step up our efforts in attack in  the final,” he said.

Afghanistan coach Waheedullan Wahedi, in his reaction, said: “Lady luck deserted us today.”