Maldives beats Afghanistan in SAFF Cup
| DATE: 2009-12-08 | PRINT | Share
Afghanistan took a shocking lead in the first half, from a goal by Hashmatullah Barkezai, but Ahmed Thoriq equalised for the defending champions seven minutes into the second half and then another goal from Ali Ashfaq (Dhangadey) gave Maldives a much needed victory.
Maldives dominated most of the game and created several promising openings but couldn’t convert any of them initially. The first of those resulted from an Ali Ashfaq freekick, which was well saved by the Afghan custodian.
Maldives were in great form throughout the match, but a counter attack from the Afghans, which created confusion in the Maldives box and allowed Hashmatullah Barkezai to score, nearly brought the match to an equal footing with the Afghans. The shock goal caused the Maldives to go under pressure during the race for half for half time and, not surprisingly, Maldives were unable to create any good opportunities before half time.
Maldives regrouped during the second half and got their equalizer seven minutes into it. A corner from Mukhtar Naseer and a fine header from Ahmed Toriq leveled the scores.
The second goal rejuvenated Maldives team but Afghanistan never seemed to falter and constantly created opportunities to score. The third goal came in the 70th minute when Dhangadey took full advantage of lapse in the Afghan defence and found the back of the net.
| DATE: 2009-12-08 | PRINT | Share
After conceding a goal to Afghanistan in the first half of their second match in the SAFF Cup on Monday, Maldives made a shocking come back during the second half by beating Afghanistan 3-1. The match took place at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka. This is their first win in the SAFF Cup, after having drawn 1-1 against Nepal in their opening match.
Afghanistan took a shocking lead in the first half, from a goal by Hashmatullah Barkezai, but Ahmed Thoriq equalised for the defending champions seven minutes into the second half and then another goal from Ali Ashfaq (Dhangadey) gave Maldives a much needed victory.
Maldives dominated most of the game and created several promising openings but couldn’t convert any of them initially. The first of those resulted from an Ali Ashfaq freekick, which was well saved by the Afghan custodian.
Maldives were in great form throughout the match, but a counter attack from the Afghans, which created confusion in the Maldives box and allowed Hashmatullah Barkezai to score, nearly brought the match to an equal footing with the Afghans. The shock goal caused the Maldives to go under pressure during the race for half for half time and, not surprisingly, Maldives were unable to create any good opportunities before half time.
Maldives regrouped during the second half and got their equalizer seven minutes into it. A corner from Mukhtar Naseer and a fine header from Ahmed Toriq leveled the scores.
The second goal rejuvenated Maldives team but Afghanistan never seemed to falter and constantly created opportunities to score. The third goal came in the 70th minute when Dhangadey took full advantage of lapse in the Afghan defence and found the back of the net.
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