Kathmandu – Substitute forward Manish Dangi scored five minutes from time as Nepal defeated hosts Maldives 1-0 in the first match of SAFF Championship 2021 in Maldives on Saturday.
Manish, who entered the field as a substitue, scored the decisive goal with 5 minutes left in the game. In the counter attack, Bishal Rai kept the ball alive past the the midfield and Manish scored the goal after a wonderful move. He beat three defenders and scored past the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.
Maldives dominated most of the game with ball possession and attack, but the Nepali team maintained its game with a disciplined defense. Nepal gave problems to Maldives from time to time in counter attack and scored the goal in the last time using the same strategy.
Nepal registered 3 points and went on level with Bangladesh. Bangladesh earlier beat Sri Lanka by 1-0. Topu Barman scored the winning penalty in the second half for Oscar Burzon’s side.
