Coming off the back of defeat in the reverse fixture a week ago, Maldivian club New Radiant started strongly at the National Stadium and were rewarded on the half-hour mark when forward Ali Fasir calmly converted after fine play from strike-partner Ali Ashfaq to open the scoring. Going into the break the hosts continued to grow in confidence, but it was only after half-time that they doubled their advantage. On this occasion, Ashfaq took advantage of a mistake from defender Rahul Bheke to extend his side’s lead after 47 minutes.
