Maldives edge Cambodia

A brace from Hassan Naiz gave Maldives a winning start in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup as the SAFF Suzuki Cup semifinalists beat Cambodia 3-2 in a pulsating Group B encounter at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday.

The way both teams played throughout the match where the spectators, who were given the opportunity to enter the stadium without tickets, will be remembered for a long time as the action-packed fourth and final last match of Jessore leg was full with excitement in every move before the islanders had the last laugh, giving a clear warning to other teams in the remaining matches.

Maldives brought a comparatively young side, excluding seven senior players including Ali Ashfaq, but his young brigade was good enough to show their class and edged a competitive side from Cambodia, who came from behind twice before conceding the third goal, thanks to a fumble from goalkeeper Seri Rath Um.

Both sides got off to a fine start with their good running but Maldives stunned Cambodia in the fourth minute when Easa Ismail, capitalising on a through-pass, made a diagonal run outside the box to give the Cambodia goalkeeper no time to react as his powerful low left-footed drive embraced the near post.

Cambodia showed signs of a comeback as Polroth Chreng headed wide from inside the box before he made amends by providing a nice ball for Vanderth Son, who created space with a back-heel before latching a grounder past Maldives goalkeeper Faisal Mohamed to equalise the margin in the 15th minute.

Then Easa Ismail rattled the crossbar from a free-kick and Hasan Naiz volley was tipped over the crossbar by the Cambodia goalkeeper on the half-hour mark before Polroth Chreng was denied by Maldives goalkeeper in the 35th minute.

From a counter attack, Maldives restored the lead through Naiz, who finished clinically with a grounder from the edge of the box in the 38th minute before Cambodia bit back through Dina Tit, who drove a grounder home after availing a back-pass from Chanrasmey Sok in the stoppage time of the first half.

After resumption, Cambodia looked better in ball possession and created a couple of good chances before Maldives sealed the match in the 78th minute through Naiz, who did not mistake to tap in from inside the box after Cambodian goalkeeper had slipped a long ball from his grip.

“I am very pleased with the young team even though the ground was very hard and it was not easy to pass the ball properly. But the boys were good enough to win the match by taking the chances,” said Maldives coach Ricky Herbert at the post-match briefing.

“We could not bring many players but our players tried their best throughout the game even though there were some mistakes. We still have two matches left and we will try our best to win every match,” said Cambodia coach Taehoon Lee.