Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kathmandu: Goalkeeper Mansur Faqiryar stopped a late penalty as Afghanistan booked a place in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship 2013 final for the second successive time after edging hosts Nepal 1-0 in the first semi-final played at the Dashrath Stadium on Sunday.
Sandjar Ahmadi put the Afghans ahead in the 11th minute which turned out to be the winner despite Nepal creating several chances to bring the match in equal terms.
As it looked like that Afghanistan were heading for a hard-fought victory, Faqiryar committed a foul in the penalty area in the 88th minute prompting Saudi Arabian referee Saleh Al Hathlool to point at the spot. Nepal’s defender Rohit Chand stepped in but Faqiryar redeemed himself by
stopping the penalty which was taken twice after the first one was ruled out by the referee due to infringement. Chand took both penalties in the same direction and both times Faqiryar was spot on.
“He saved our nation,” Afghanistan captain Haroon Fakhruddin praised goalkeeper Faqiryar after the match. “Playing against an in-form team supported by the capacity crowd of the stadium in their home ground and grinding a result like this is unbelievable,” he added.
Afghanistan will face the winners of the second semi-final between the Maldives and India in the final on Thursday.