Ali Thameem
Maldives U20 national football team has lost control over its fate after running into a goalless stalemate against Bhutan in the U20 SAFF Championship game last night.
The Maldives ended the second of the three fixtures with just one point in hand. Having lost to Sri Lanka on the opening day, the only hope of reaching semifinals is for Maldives to defeat Nepal on Friday evening, and hope for Bhutan to hold Sri Lanka to a draw.
There were three changes to the starting line-up last night. Mohamed Naisam Nadheem, Nashiu Ahmed Shiham and Aidh Mohamed Javeez all got the call-up to start against Bhutan.
The home side had found some great chances to open the scoring. In the first half, Ilan Imran hit the cross bar from inside the box. A low cross by Mikyal from the byline went untouched across the face of the goal before Nassah hit wide from the edge of the area.
In the second half, Ahuzam attempted a volley from a rebound, which the Bhutan goalkeeper saved. In the dying minutes of the game, Ilan made a breakthrough from the centre, but was brought down inside the D-area. The resulting freekick from Ethan went misfired.
Bhutan’s Sonum Dorji came close to breaking the deadlock as well, hitting the cross bar late into the second half. The away side’s goalkeeper Tandin Penjor was awarded Player of the Match.
The group’s remaining fixture will see Maldives take on Nepal, who are already qualified for the semifinals after defeating both Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The home side’s chances of making it to the knock-out stage has been greatly diminished with just one point in two games.
