Nepal in the semifinal of SAFF Championship 2011!!!

Nepal is  the first to seal it  spot in the final four of the competition as the draw against Pakistan aided their cause…

Nepal and Pakistan split the points among them in their final group B match held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.

A first half strike by man of the match Bharat Khawas was cancelled out by Samar Ishaq’s spot-kick in the second half.

Nepal are the first side to qualify for the semi-finals while Pakistan’s future in the competition still hangs in the air as that would be determined at the end of the second match – Maldives versus Bangladesh. If the game between Maldives and Bangladesh ends in a goalless draw, that would see a draw of the lots between Pakistan and Maldives. If Maldives - Bangladesh ends up in a scored draw, Pakistan would be out as it would be Maldives who shall progress.

Pakistan coach Zavisa Milosavljevic made two changes from the last match as Kaleem Ullah and Muhammed Ahmed were included in the starting line-up. Graham Roberts seemed to have lost his patience with Anil Gurung as Santhosh Saukhala and Jumani Rai were the two strikers.

The two teams played cautiously with Pakistan playing with almost all their players behind the ball except Jadeed Khan looking to hit on the counter.

Nepalese team celebration

Pakistan appealed for a penalty in the 16th minute when Sagar Thapa won the ball from Jadeed Khan with a sliding tackle. While the referee waived off the appeals, Pakistan coach seemed displayed about it.

Kaleem Ullah had a crack on goal when he collected a ball from Nepal half and unleashed a fierce left footer which saw Kiran Kumar Limbu dive to his left and save the danger.

The breakthrough came eight minutes before the end of the first half as Bharat Khawas, unmarked inside the area, slotted home from a Rajju Tamang corner kick.

Just three minutes into the second half and Pakistan found the equaliser through Samar Ishaq as he sent Kiran Kumar Limbu the wrong side from the penalty sspot. This was after Sandip Rai fouled Kaleem Ullah inside the box which left referee Nagor Aamir no choice but to award the spot-kick.

The play had to be halted for five minutes or so when there was a clash of heads between Rabin Shreshta and Muhammed Rizwan Asif.

Kaleem Ullah found Saddam Hussain whose left footed show from the edge of the box went wide in the 71st minute.

In the 78th minute, Hasnain Abbas threw himself over goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu after he had collected a Faisal Iqbal cross from the left and thereafter acted as if he had been fouled by covering his face!

Substitute Bhola Nath Silwal had a long range attempt but hit it straight to Jafar Khan.

Sagar Thapa being overambitious with his free-kicks and wasting at least a five of them, it was Sandip Rai who has given the chance to whip it in from the edge of the box when Santhosh Khala was fouled by Kamran Khan. Goalkeeper Jafar Khan remained glued to his position as Rai’s free-kick came off the side post.

The scoreline remained the same until the end as Nepal progressed into the knockouts. Bharat Khawas was handed the man of the match award.