Kathmandu [Nepal], August 23 : After 95 minutes of toil by India, Manglenthang Kipgen's stunning left-footed long-range strike helped the Blue Colts notch a 1-0 win over Maldives in their final Group B match and qualify for the semi-final of the SAFF U20 Championship at the ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Friday, August 23, 2024.
India, who had beaten Bhutan 1-0 in the first game on Monday, finished Group B as table toppers and will face Group A runners-up Bangladesh in the semi-final on Monday, August 26, at 14:45 IST.
The MVP of last year's SAFF U19 Championship after scoring a brace in the final against Pakistan, Kipgen, coming on as a second-half substitute on Friday afternoon, proved clutch again for India as he maintained perfect composure and lodged the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot from 25 yards out. The Maldives goalkeeper Mohamed Yaameen, who had been on top of his game, denying India on numerous occasions throughout the 90 minutes, could do nothing about Kipgen's wonder strike.
As expected, India started off brighter and knocked the ball around confidently. They looked sharper in transition as compared to the first game, with Korou Singh Thingujam and Kelvin Singh Taorem providing much-needed width in attack.
It was the latter who stung the first shot on target for India. Central midfielder Ebindas Yesudasan picked out Kelvin with a diagonal ball, and the Bengaluru FC winger cut inside from the left before drilling a low shot at the near post, but Yaameen tipped it out. From the resulting corner by Gurnaj Singh Grewal, Monirul Molla sought to replicate his match-winning goal from the Bhutan game. However, his glancing header went wide on this occasion.
The next few minutes brought more exasperation for Molla as two golden chances went begging for the striker. In the 18th minute, Korou drilled a low ball into the six-yard box, but he couldn't sort his feet out quickly enough at the far post and fluffed his attempt. Four minutes later, Korou again drove to the by-line and served the ball right at Molla's feet but his shot went straight at the goalkeeper.
India continued to rely on the pace of their wingers and full-backs to trouble Maldives, but the final touches inside the box weren't good enough to break the deadlock in the first half. On one occasion that the Blue Colts did manage to find the net, the assistant referee raised his flag for offside. Two minutes before half-time, captain Ricky Meetei Haobam delivered a low ball across the face of the goal as Kelvin arrived at the back post and gleefully tucked it in, but the tight offside call went against him and the goal didn't count.
The introduction of Kipgen changed the dynamic of India's attack as they looked to find spaces centrally. In the 47th minute, he picked out an unmarked Kelvin in the box, who blazed his shot over. Later, Kipgen himself blasted one over the bar after he couldn't wrap his left foot around the ball enough. Maldives, who had failed to test Priyansh Dubey in the India goal, had their real chance as captain Shanaan Rashaadh's free-kick skimmed inches over the crossbar.
But Maldives custodian Yaameen remained busy. In the 68th minute, he came out to punch a corner. Manjot Singh Dhami shot on the rebound but it was blocked by Abdulla Looth Ibrahim. Four minutes later, Korou, Kipgen and Ebindas displayed neat interplay near the edge of the box, with the latter then setting up Naoba Meitei Pangambam, but the promising attack proved to be futile as his shot went through a crowd of legs and didn't have enough power to trouble Yaameen.
Substitute striker Gwgwmsar Goyary also came close on a couple of occasions, being denied by Yaameen both times. In the 80th minute, his header from a Kipgen cross was collected with ease. Goyary then tried his luck from a distance, but his grounded effort was also saved.
Five minutes later, Naoba pickpocketed defender Ahmed Nawaf in the Maldives box and flashed the ball across looking for Goyary, but he was a little late in arriving and the chance had gone by then.
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