Winning starts for Pakistan, Bangladesh in SAFF Cup

Mohamed Ali scored in the dying minutes to give Pakistan a 2-1 win over Nepal in their opening 2018 SAFF Cup Group A match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday. Hosts Bangladesh also enjoyed a flying start as they defeated Bhutan 2-0 in Group A’s second match of the day.It was a great start to Pakistan’s campaign as Nepal had started the brighter of the two sides and came close to scoring on several occasions. However, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead into half-time break after Nepal’s Biraj Maharjan brought Mohamed Riaz down in the box in the 36th minute. Hassan Bashir easily converted. Nepal pressed for the equaliser but only drew level in the 82nd minute, with Bimal Magar finding the back of the net. Just when a draw seemed the likely result, Ali scored off a speedy counter attack to seal all three points for Pakistan. Pakistan head coach Jose Antonio Nogueira said: “Nepal played very well but we were also strong so it was a balanced game. Nepal had more possession, but if you look back, we were the more attacking team.”Nepal head coach Bal Gopal Maharjan said his team failed to defend well. “This result is very unfortunate. Pakistan had the advantage of height and played to this advantage by focusing on set-pieces. They were successful in playing the counter-attacking game. We should have defended better,” said Maharjan. In the day’s second match, Bangladesh took the lead in the third minute through a penalty converted by Topu Barman after Saad Uddin was brought down by Tshering Dirji of Bhutan. Despite dominating, Bangladesh had to wait till the 47th minute for their second goal with Mahbubur Rahman scoring with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net. Bangladesh will play Pakistan in a top-of-the-table clash tomorrow while Nepal and Bhutan will square off.Defender Subhasish to captain IndiaMeanwhile, India coach Stephen Constantine said young defender Subhasish Bose will don the captain’s armband in India’s SAFF Cup opener against Sri Lanka Dhaka today. “Subhasish has been very impressive in the recent camps. In the first few days, he had to work a lot and being a fighter, he has made a strong comeback. I’m very proud of him and obviously, it’s going to be a very special moment for him,” Constantine said. India arrived in Dhaka fresh from a preparatory Camp since July 28 in Delhi and then a 17-day preparatory camp in Sydney where they played three friendly fixtures against APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, Sydney FC and Rydalmere Lions FC.Constantine stated: “The three games in Australia have been terrific practice for us. The game against Sydney FC, that too against their first squad has been a great lesson for us. We got a few positive feedbacks from Australia and those are going to be pretty helpful for us in the coming days.”