Bangladesh face Afghanistan today

Sri Lanka beat Nepal in opener

Bangladesh will face an acid test in their opener in the eleventh edition of SAFF Suzuki Championship when they will take on the reigning champions and also one of the top contenders Afghanistan today at the Trivandrum Stadium, Kerala. The match will start at 7pm (BST).
Bangladesh, who were inserted in the ‘Death of Group B’.  Apart from defending champions, one of the hard opponents Afghans, former champions Maldives and the rising power Bhutan are also in the same group.  
Both the players and the coach are very much eager to break the 12 years drought with winning the title. For some of the youngsters it is a big platform to expose them and to prove them as the future stars of Bangladesh and for some of the players, it would be the last SAFF tournament. On the other hands, for the coach Maruful it could be a milestone if he would be success to make Bangladesh champions in his debut as national team coach.
Meanwhile, Rifnas Mohamed scored in the last minute of the injury time to steer Sri Lanka to a dramatic winning start in the SAFF Championship yesterday at the Trivandrum Stadium, India.
Rifnas Mohamed scored the all important goal just against the flow of the match when Nepal played with full commanding position in the 90 minutes match and also had at least half a dozen scoring opportunities.     
None of the Nepalese forward Anjan or Rohit Anil Gurung could mark the target despite taking some strong attempt at the post and at last Nepal had to finish the match with a shocking defeat. Nepal, the day’s favorites, began the match with attacking approach and took the match in control putting the opponents into tremendous pressure.
Nepal opened some scoring spaces in the initial minutes but Biraj Mohajan missed the first chance when his close range effort went wide. Then Baljit and  Anil Gurung squandered the next two chances.
Nepal changed their jerseys during the break due to colour of both sides almost similar. Sri Lanka carried out their first notable move on 63rd minute against the run of  play when their striker Rifnas forcefully sent the ball miles over the post.  
Nepal went to raid the Sri Lankan fort again in 82nd minute when a Jagjit Shrestha attempt was brilliantly saved by the Lankan goalkeeper. Sri Lanka, who could make threat twice in the whole game, brought the match winning goal in the last minute of the added time through Rinas Mohamed who just took the advantage of defenders laps (1-0).

 

Details on Sports Page

 

Bangladesh face Afghanistan today

Sri Lanka beat Nepal in opener

Bangladesh will face an acid test in their opener in the eleventh edition of SAFF Suzuki Championship when they will take on the reigning champions and also one of the top contenders Afghanistan today at the Trivandrum Stadium, Kerala. The match will start at 7pm (BST). Bangladesh, who were inserted in the Death of Group B. Apart from defending champions, one of the hard opponents Afghans, former champions Maldives and the rising power Bhutan are also in the same group. Both the players and the coach are very much eager to break the 12 years drought with winning the title. For some of the youngsters it is a big platform to expose them and to prove them as the future stars of Bangladesh and for some of the players, it would be the last SAFF tournament. On the other hands, for the coach Maruful it could be a milestone if he would be success to make Bangladesh champions in his debut as national team coach. Meanwhile, Rifnas Mohamed scored in the last minute of the injury time to steer Sri Lanka to a dramatic winning start in the SAFF Championship yesterday at the Trivandrum Stadium, India. Rifnas Mohamed scored the all important goal just against the flow of the match when Nepal played with full commanding position in the 90 minutes match and also had at least half a dozen scoring opportunities. None of the Nepalese forward Anjan or Rohit Anil Gurung could mark the target despite taking some strong attempt at the post and at last Nepal had to finish the match with a shocking defeat. Nepal, the days favorites, began the match with attacking approach and took the match in control putting the opponents into tremendous pressure. Nepal opened some scoring spaces in the initial minutes but Biraj Mohajan missed the first chance when his close range effort went wide. Then Baljit and Anil Gurung squandered the next two chances. Nepal changed their jerseys during the break due to colour of both sides almost similar. Sri Lanka carried out their first notable move on 63rd minute against the run of play when their striker Rifnas forcefully sent the ball miles over the post. Nepal went to raid the Sri Lankan fort again in 82nd minute when a Jagjit Shrestha attempt was brilliantly saved by the Lankan goalkeeper. Sri Lanka, who could make threat twice in the whole game, brought the match winning goal in the last minute of the added time through Rinas Mohamed who just took the advantage of defenders laps (1-0). Details on Sports Page