By a Staff Reporter
Nepal National U20 team recorded a 3-0 victory over Sri Lanka U20 in its second match of SAFF U20 Championship. With two wins in a row Nepal becomes favourites to play in the finals.
Skipper Aayush Ghalan, Kritish Ratna Chhunju and Managya Nakarmi scored apiece to give Nepal an empathic victory over Sri Lanka. The first half ended with a goalless draw. Nepal returned to the field with an attacking strategy from the dressing room and smashed 3 past Sri Lanka in the second half. Following the second win in a row, Nepal climbs atop of the competition points table.
Both teams got numerous opportunities to score in the first half, but neither team could convert it. Ajay Chaudhary scored a goal for Nepal in the 29th minute but it was disallowed by the match referee. On the rebound from the corner, Ajay Chaudhary’s powerful shot hit the Sri Lankan defender and the ball kissed the net. But the referee had already blown his whistle calling the foul commenced by Ashish Rai while vying the ball against the Sri Lankan defender.
Skipper Ghalan opened an account for Nepal in the 51st minute. Abishek Waiba’s cross from the right flank was punched away by Sri Lankan goalkeeper W. Shane Banuka and Ghalan converted it in a rebound.
Within a few minutes of taking the lead, Chhunju scored a stunner to double Nepal’s lead. He smashed the ball into the top corner from outside of the box utilizing the pass from Ghalan.
In the 80th minute, Nakarmi who came in as a substitute player in the second half tapped in to seal Nepal’s victory. Nakarmi scored an easy goal following a pass from Sugam Suwal.
Likewise, Ishwor Gurung kept his second clean sheet by blocking numerous attempts made by the Sri Lankan players. Nepal will now face the home side India in its next outing on July 31, 2022.
With this win, Nepal climbs to the top of the competition points table with 6 points. Bangladesh stands second with equal points to Nepal. India, Sri Lanka and Maldives are yet to bag any points. After the completion of the round robin, the top two teams will face each other in the finals.
The championship, which was previously held under the name of SAFF U19 and SAFF U18, is now being held under the name of SAFF U20 Championship. Nepal had won the first two editions while India had won the latest edition.
Nepal’s Fixtures:
Nepal VS India: July 31, 2022
Nepal VS Bangladesh: August 2, 2022
Final: August 5 , 2022
Final squad:
Goalkeeper: Ishwor Gurung, Unesh Chaudhary, Jiyarath Seikh
Defenders: Amar Shrestha, Sonit Dahal, Aayush Shrestha, Ajay Chaudhary, Sumit Shrestha, Srijan Dhani, Roshan Thapa, Abhishek Waiba
Midfielders: Dipesh Gurung, Aashish Rai, Sandeep Karki, Janmajay Dhami, Mohit Gurung, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Sugam Suwal, Managya Nakarmi, Aayush Ghalan
Forward: Rohit Subba, Niranjan Malla, Rohan Khadgi
Head Coach: Meghraj KC
Assistant Coach: Balgopal Sahukhal
Goalkeeping Coach: Ujwal Manandhar
Team Manager: Diwakar Ghale
Team Physiotherapist: Lokendra Kunwar
