Pakistan outplay Bhutan 4-0, oust Maldives from semi final

Bernard Perera

As expected Pakistan the defending champions of the South Asian Games soccer made their way to the semi-final with a resounding victory over Bhutan in their final game of the preliminary round in group ‘A’.

Pakistan entered yesterday’s game with determination to make it to the last four. They needed a victory plus a goal tally of four to oust Maldives from the semis. Maldives were placed second behind Sri Lanka.

Both teams had six points from two wins, while Pakistan had three from one win, which meant that yesterday’s was a must win for their survival. This they achieved in style.

Adeel Hameed put the Pakistanis into the lead with a goal in the early stages. Shahid Ahmed followed with two more goals to take them to an unbeatable lead. As the teams returned for lemons with a scorecard reading in favour of Pakistan 3-0.

The second half was not tough for the winners as they had made sure of their place in today’s semi-final. Pakistan was on the run to score more but in a lighter vein as they have another game which is more vital to keep their hopes alive to move to the final scheduled for next Saturday.

Ground conditions yesterday at Sugathadasa stadium was not conducive for play and the organisers after an inspection decided to shift the game to Police Park, Bambalapitiya.

Today Sri Lanka meet India in the first semi-final scheduled to kick off at 3.0 p.m. at the Sugathadasa stadium. Meanwhile India confront Pakistan in the next game scheduled to commence at 9.0 p.m. This delay is caused as the stadium will be used from today for athletics which is the main attraction of the 10th South Asian Games.

According to an official of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka the Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation Peter Velappan has arrived in the island to witness the SA Games soccer championship semis and the final on Saturday.

Velappan is an ardent supporter of Sri Lankan soccer and is also a person who has helped FFSL whenever it was in need of support for the development of the game here.