Pakistan lose 3-2 to India in SAFF Championship opener
Two stoppage-time goals, including an Alamgir overhead kick, came after India had scored three inside the first 31 minutes in Dhaka.
Pakistan lost 3-2 to India in their SAFF Championship Group B opener at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, conceding three goals inside the first 31 minutes before two strikes in stoppage time pulled the score back.
Suhail Ahmad Bhat put India ahead in the 14th minute with a first-time finish at the end of a quick attacking move and doubled his tally six minutes later with another clinical finish. Manglenthang Kipgen made it 3-0 two minutes past the half-hour mark.
Pakistan's clearest chance of the first half came from the penalty spot after Hayyaan Khattak was fouled inside the box. Shayek Dost sent the kick over the crossbar, and India carried their three-goal lead into the break.
Coach Nolberto Solano made an early change, replacing defender Waqar Ehtisham Baloch with striker McKeal Abdullah. At half-time Umar Nawaz and Muhammad Junaid came on for Syed Ali Raza and Ali Uzair Mahmood. Injuries to left-back Abdul Rehman and Dost forced two more substitutions, with Junaid Shah and Najeebullah coming on.
Najeebullah had earlier been denied by India goalkeeper Arsh Anwer Shaikh, but in the second minute of added time he headed in a Junaid Shah cross for his first international goal. Two minutes later Alamgir, with his back to goal, took a pass from McKeal Abdullah, lifted the ball and connected with an overhead kick that found the far corner.
Pakistan attacked again in search of an equaliser, and India held on to take all three points.
ARY News reported that Pakistan were missing several key players who had featured in the FIFA ASEAN Cup last month.
Pakistan play Maldives on Sunday, November 8, at 2:30pm PKT in their final Group B match. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, and Pakistan need a positive result to stay in contention. The match will be played before the FIFA international window begins.
How the reports differ
Both reports gave the same scoreline and the same scorers, but ARY News carried the full sequence of the match: Suhail Ahmad Bhat's two goals and Manglenthang Kipgen's third, Shayek Dost's missed penalty, Solano's substitutions and the Maldives fixture on Sunday. Dawn's retrievable report covered the stoppage-time rally and named the scorer of the overhead kick as Alamgir Ghazi, the player ARY calls Alamgir. ARY alone reported that Pakistan were without several key players who had featured in the FIFA ASEAN Cup last month.
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