New Delhi: Defending champions India made it to the final of the SAFF Cup after a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Maldives in an intriguing semi-final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday.
Syed Rahim Nabi gave India the lead in a first half which the hosts dominated against their more circumspect opponents. However, Maldives responded strongly after the break and were on level terms in the 60th minute thanks to a superb volley from Shamweel Qasim.
Just as Maldives started to threaten, the match swung back in India's favour. A foul on Sunil Chhetri resulted in a penalty for India, and the striker made no mistake to put his side ahead again. The Mohun Bagan forward then added to his tally of goals in added time, just before Maldives’ Ahmed Thariq was sent off after a second yellow, ensuring India’s passage into their eighth final in nine editions of the SAFF Cup.
India and Maldives have been involved in some close encounters in the past, particularly in this tournament. Maldives defeated India to win their maiden SAFF Cup title in 2008, while India returned the favour in the 2009 final, coming through on penalties. The last match between the two sides – a friendly in July – ended in a 1-1 draw. So it was no surprise that this clash was a tense affair as well.
India had a chance as early as the second minute – Climax Lawrence’s firm shot on target was parried away by Maldives goalkeeper Imran Mohammed, only for Jeje Lalpekhula to shoot the rebound way over when it would have been easier to put the ball into an open goal.
The young Pune FC striker almost made amends ten minutes later, but his on-target header off Nabi’s cross was pushed away by Imran Mohammed diving on full stretch to his left. Jeje then set up Chhetri, but his strike partner shot from just outside the box a bit too early and it went over the bar.
By now India had the upper hand, though coach Savio Medeira would have been worried by his side’s wayward finishing before Nabi gave them a deserved lead in the 24th minute. Clifford Miranda’s free kick from near the half-way line floated over Jeje’s head, but Nabi – who once again impressed in this match – was on hand to send a low shot in at the far post.
Maldives had posed little threat until then, and with talismanic skipper Ali Ashfaq apparently in some discomfort, the visitors were forced to defend in numbers and look for the break on the counter-attack.
As a result, the rest of the half was a scrappy affair with few clear-cut chances, and Maldives did not really trouble India goalkeeper Karanjit Singh until a minute before half-time. Qasim’s ball from the right was well-controlled by Ashfaq, who was able to hold off Gouramangi Singh but could only send his shot into the side netting.
With the score still at 1-0, however, it was still all to play for, and Maldives continued to show more urgency after the re-start. Karanjit Singh had to be alert to tip over Thariq's close-range header, but there was nothing he could do when the much-improved visitors finally took the lead at the hour mark. Akram Abdul Gani found Qasim in the box, and his stinging shot flew into the net past the hapless Karanjit.
The momentum was now firmly with Maldives but they found themselves trailing again eight minutes later, against the run of play. It was a soft penalty after Mohamed Umair appeared to pull down Chhetri, but the Indian striker made no mistake, calmly stepping up to keep up his record of scoring in every game of this tournament thus far.
A desperate Maldives came closest to an equalizer in the 78th minute, Ashfaq heading a free kick over the bar before Thariq failed to get a touch onto Gani’s pinpoint pass.
India ended the match just as they had started it – on top, coming close with a number of chances – before Chhetri made the game safe at the death. The 27-year-old latched onto Jeje’s low pass in between two defenders, before running ahead to slot in his sixth goal of the tournament. Chhetri has now equaled IM Vijayan’s record tally in 1997 – the highest number of goals scored by an individual in a single edition.
Having seen off Maldives, pre-tournament favourites India will now face surprise finalists Afghanistan in the summit clash on Sunday. And with inconsistency and fatigue still a concern, the hosts will hope the in-form Chhetri can help them add to their five SAFF Cup titles.
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