India beat Nepal to book semi-final spot

Title aspirants India reached the semi-final of the SAFF Championships following their unconvincing 1-0 win over Nepal in a Group A match in Dhaka on Monday.

The India under-23 side was helped by Nepalese goalkeeper Bikash Malla, who fumbled with a Robert Lalthalma piledriver in the 17th minute, and inadvertently pushed the ball across the line while trying to gather it.

Sukhwinder Singh's boys now have two wins to their credit, having beaten Afghanistan by an identical margin in their opening game on December 5, enough to qualify for the last four stage without doing anything great.

The first half was evenly contested but the Nepalese came back strongly in the second session and they laid siege of the Indian goal in the last few minutes. But the Indian defence was equal to the task and they survived a flurry of corners from the Nepalese.

For Nepal, most of the attack originated from mid-fielders Bijay Gurung and Anjan. The duo fed striker Anil Gurung, who play for the Indian I-League side Shillong Lajong.

Gurung had a few shots at the Indian goal but failed to beat Indian goalkepeer Arindam Bhattacharya, who had a fine day for the second consecutive match.

In the 34th minute, diminutive Gurung was perfectly positioned for a header but he nodded a few inches over the bar to the disappointment of the handful of their supporters at the stand. Jeje Lalpeklua, who came in place of Balwant Singh in the 69th minute, could have made it 2-0 but the striker, who had scored India's lone goal against Afghanistan, headed over the bar in the injury time off a Jeevan Singh corner.

Right winger Joaquim Abranches received his second yellow card of the tournament and he will miss India's final group match against holders Maldives on Thursday. He was substituted by Suboth Kumar in the 63rd minute. Goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya also was booked by the referee.

In the other group match, Maldives bounced back from their surprising 1-1 draw in their opening game against Nepal by beating Afghanistan 3-1.

Maldives now have three points from two matches and they will just need a draw against India to make it to the semi-final.