Nepal is out of the AFC Challenge Cup after losing to Sri Lanka 5-3 in penalty shoot out of the semi-finals at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong on Wednesday.
Pradeep Maharjan squandered two spots kick to dash the hopes of the Nepalese team reaching the finals of an international tournament since 1993, when they defeated India in the final of SAF Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Nepal was awarded an penalty in the 63rd minute when Lankan goalie Sugath Thilakarathne pulled down Basanta Thapa inside the box. Nepal’s hopes of going ahead 1-0 was dashed when Pradeep Maharjan missed the penalty kick.
The Lankan team took a huge boost from the miss and thwarted the Nepalese den two minutes later. Weerarathna Jayasuriya bamboozled the Nepalese sleeping defense line capitalizing on the free-kick from Mohamed Izzadeen to shoot past goalie Bikash Malla.
However, the Nepalese team continued its attacking attempts and were rewarded when Bijaya Gurung showed a classy move to supply a superb pass to Basanta who didn’t miss the sitter to level the score. Nepalese skipper Basanta Thapa, Vishan Gauchan and others missed several chances throughout the match. Sri Lanka also had some attempts late in the second half but their attempts were denied by Bikash Malla.
After completion of regulation time, the teams played to a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time and settled for the penalty shootout for the victory. Sri Lanka began the shoot out with Kamaldeen Fuard, Chathura Madurange Weerasingha, Chathura Gunarathna and Ediribandanage Channa converting their penalties. For Nepal Anjan KC, Tashi Tsering and Nabin Neupane converted and it was Pradeep Maharjan’s turn to kick to level the score. But his kick sailed over the bar and when Lankan Jeewantha Dhammika Ratnayaka netted a cool spot kick, the celebrations started for the Lankan side victorious 5-3.
“We were bereft from lady luck and it is hard to believe that Pradeep missed a spot kick as he is our best shooter,” Nepalese coach Shyam Thapa told reporters. “However, I am satisfied with their play,” he added. Sri Lanka will now travel to Dhaka to play the winner of the second semi-final between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to be played on Thursday.
The final will be played on April 16. nepalnews.com bt Apr 13 06