India vs Pakistan SAFF Championship: Pakistan lose 3-2 after late fightback
Pakistan were 3-0 down in Dhaka before two stoppage-time goals made it 3-2. A missed penalty, missing luggage and why Sunday's Maldives game decides it.
Pakistan lost their SAFF Championship opener to India 3-2 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, 5 November, but only after scoring twice in stoppage time to turn a heavy defeat into a nervy finish. We previewed this Group B match on Tuesday; here is how it went.
Three down by the half-hour
India, fielding a second-string squad because their first team is playing New Zealand, were sharper from the start. Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored in the 14th minute with a first-time finish from a low cross, and added a second six minutes later. Manglenthang Kipgen made it 3-0 just after the half-hour mark.
Pakistan had a way back before the break. Hayyan Khattak won a penalty, but Shayek Dost’s kick hit the crossbar.
Two goals in two minutes, too late
Nolberto Solano’s side were much better after the interval and finally broke through in the second minute of added time. Najeebullah headed in Junaid Shah’s cross, his first goal for Pakistan. Two minutes later Alamgir Ghazi finished from a tight angle while falling, and India had to hold on for the final whistle.
Pakistan were missing several regulars who played in last month’s FIFA ASEAN Cup.
“We scored too late”
Alamgir Ghazi was blunt afterwards. “The first half was not good. We could have scored [with the penalty]. We were better in the second, but we scored too late,” he said, adding that the team had not been able to train because their luggage went missing.
What Pakistan need now
Only the top two in each group reach the semi-finals, so Pakistan’s last Group B match, against the Maldives on Sunday, 8 November, is effectively a must-win. “We want to beat Maldives,” Ghazi said.
