Nepal knocked out of SAFF Championship
27 Dec, Kathmandu: Nepal was knocked out of the SAFF Championship following a defeat with host India on Saturday.
India won the match 4-1 in which Nepal desperately needed to register a victory. Nepal was defeated in its opening match against Sri Lanka 0-1 forcing it into a decider with host India.
Nepal came out into the field in an aggressive and attacking mode in the match played at Trivandrum Stadium in Kerala and took the lead just three minutes into the play. Bimal Gharti Magar scored from a rebound of a strike made by Navayug Shrestha of a pass from Rohit Chand.
India’s Rowllin Borges scored the equalizer in the 26 minutes after which the game witnessed a dearth of more goals, but plenty of good attacks from both the sides until the half- time whistle blew.
In the second half Nepal kept up its attacking mode but conceded a goal from Indian Skipper Sunil Chhetri in the 68th minute. Looking for another goal the Nepali team made attempts to penetrate the Indian defence which refused to bend.
Two more goals came in the 81st and 90th minutes from India’s youngster Chhangte Lallianzuala which effectively sealed Nepal’s hopes of advancing into the semi finals of the SAFF Championship. RSS
