| Maldives' dream of winning a regional title comes to an end.. again
14 December 2005
Uploaded: 14.12.2005, 05:00 PM
A dangerous header from Pakistan during their group match:
India scored from a header (AFP)
Karachi, PAKISTAN -
Maldives who had a poor track record against the Indians proved that they are no better than India once again as they lost to 1- 0. Although Maldivian club teams performed well in the Asian tournaments, the national team's performance is downgrading. There was no direction in Maldives play and the Indians who used long ball tactics which was previously employed by the other teams was very successful. The team's midfield was very open and the Indians used it perfectly.
Maldivian strikers who had a marvelous start lacked any power in the matches following it. Their shots were mostly off target and the opposition keeper, sundeep did not have much work.
Although Maldives lost the match, they started with more vigor and determination then the last match and as a result more chances were created in the first few minutes. But none of them was a big threat for the Indian keeper.
The match began with lots of fouls by India and as a result yellow card started to fly from referees pocket. After a warning to Climax when he fouled Shamveel, the referee lost his patience and awarded a yellow card to him in the 7 th minute when he fouled Naasir.
There was a very dangerous cross in the 8th minute by the powerful striker, Baichung Bhutia, but it was successfully cleared by Sobah.
In the 14th minute a free kick was awarded to Maldives when Climax fouled another one on Ashfaaq. The shot was taken by Assad but did not have much accuracy and went over the cross bar.
In the 16th minute, the referee from Yamen showed another yellow to Mehtab Hussain when he brought down Shifan.
India tried to press the Maldivian defense line. Venkatesh crossed a very nice ball in the 18th minute, which would have hit the net if it did not hit the Indian player on the way.
In the 21st minute, there was a perfect play by the Maldives between Thoriq, shamveel and Ali Umar but Thoriq could not return the cross as he dribbled a little bit more and the chance was gone. It would have been a great chance if he crossed it a little bit earlier.
Sobah proved that he is one of the tallest and one of the best defenders in the Maldivian national team. He stopped almost all the balls which came inside the penalty area as India, like the other nations tried to use the advantage of the 'size' factor by crossing long balls inside the penalty area.
In the 32nd minute, Ali Umar and Ashfaaq whose understanding is remarkable created a very open chance for Thoriq, but he failed to score when the goal was open for him.
But one mistake by Sobah, who left Manju all alone in the penalty area, shot the first goal of the match in the 38th minute from a corner. His header was out of reach for the keeper. It was a lousy goal. But a goal is a goal.
Maldives team then tried to make more chances, and in the 40th minute Tom gave a very open chance to Oppo, which he failed to shoot on target. The ball went too far wide from the post.
Jameel was shown a yellow card after he tackled from behind on Baichun Bhutia.
In the first few minutes of the second half Maldives got another chance, but Thoriq's header went over the cross bar. The free kick was very nicely taken but Thoriq failed to target the ball.
Jameel closely marked Baichun Bhutia, but he managed to take a loose shot in the 50th minute, which was saved brilliantly by Imran.
Imran who was very brave in the previous match against Pakistan was top in his form and tried to save the long balls, which poured inside the penalty area.
Maldives team had to push harder and as a result Naasir who was playing in the left defender position was substituted with sampath a central midfield player and the formation changed to 4-3-3.
In the 70th minute, Indians shot another goal. But referee disallowed the goal as the ball crossed the line before they try their luck.
Ismail, who did a marvelous job last season crossed beautifully after passing two defenders, but the shot by Thoriq had not direction and it went over the cross bar.
Coach stoikov who was desperate for a goal brought out another defender, but this time the tall defender who was one of the better players- sobah was substituted in the 75 th minute for Hussain Habeeb.
Baichun Bhutia tried to score another goal and he almost did it in the 42nd minute. But referee blew the whistle for a foul on keeper Imran.
The changes by coach stoikov did not have much effect as none of the players had much possession and there wasn't a big threat for the keeper.
The team who would play against India would be decided in the following game against Bangladesh and Pakistan at 1600hrs.
This is the second time Maldives lost in the semi final of SAFF championship. Surprisingly it was India who knocked out Maldives in the semi final of 1999 tournament and won the title. So, can we conclude saying this is going to be another gold medal year for India?
....................................................................................................................
Send your comment about this article, [email protected]
|
