SAFF Championship: Nepal held by Pakistan 1-1 but through to semi-final

Once again riding on their dogged defending, the Pakistani side clinched 3rd draw in a row in the SAFF Championship 2011. They held skillful Nepal to 1-1 draw at the end of the match.

The match started with a semi-final spot at stake for both the teams. A win for either side would have sealed a semi-final spot. So both the teams started on attacking note. In the 3rd minute itself Biraj Maharjan created troule for Jaffar Khan through his cross. 3 more minutes later Jadeed Pathan won 1st corner of the match for Pakistan but could not do much with it. Nepal were having the lions share of possession while Pakistan were mainly dependent on fast counter-attacks with long balls,

Rohit Chand from the left flank along with Jumanu Rai made some inroads into Pakistani defense . The continuous pressure earned them a corner in the 36th minute. Raju Tamang’s shot was netted by Bharat Khawas and Nepal were 1-0 up. The scoreline stayed the same till half-time.

Kaleem Ullah was the livewire for Pakistan today and right after HT, he earned a penalty when Sandeep Rai brought him down in the 48th minute. Samar Ishaq took it from the spot and made it 1-1 for Pakistan.

Nepal kept on pressing hard for another goal combining short passes and sometimes long ranger attempts on goal. Pakistan on the other-hand relied on counter-attacks and blinders. In the 60th minute there was a clash of heads between Rabin Shreshtha and Muhammed Rizwan Asif and both of them were replaced and taken out on ambulance.

A sense of urgency was seen in Pakistani side and Husnain Abbas and Saddam Hussain produced some skills only to disappoint with their finishing move.

Nepal could have won the match if Sandip Rai’s 89th minute free-kick hadn’t hit the post. An excellently taken free-kick saw goalie Jaffar Khan watching it go helplessly to the far-post but it hit the upright.

An anti-climax for Nepal was almost in store when in 90th minute Pakistani goalie’s free-kick from centre of the field found Pakistani feet with Nepal goalkeeper Limbu out of his line. But Atif Qureshi shot it wide and away.

Nepal are through to the semis while Pakistan’s fate hangs on the match coming up next between Bangladesh and Maldives. A win for either side will mean pakistan going out and that winner team clinching a seni-final spot.