KATHMANDU, Oct 5: Nepal suffered a 1-0 loss to Lebanon in their first match under the AFC U-16 group ´B´ qualifiers that kicked off at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Monday. [break]
A lone goal from Ali Saad in the 14th minute of the match turned to be the decider as no other goal was scored in the match. Utilizing a pass inside the box, Saad made a clever attempt and scored the goal when the Nepali custodian Laxman Thapa had moved forward.
Physically weak Nepali team, which came up with air ball and long passes in the first half, was bound to change the strategy in the second half to grass and short passes against the physically taller and stronger opponents.
Nepal, which got more than half a dozen of chances of scoring, failed to utilize them. In the 26th minute, Lebanon´s goalkeeper M El Mahmoud punched a goal off Man Bahadur Tamang which he had shot from near the center line. Nepal were unlucky in the 45th minute, too, as Nepali skipper Sulav Maskey´s powerful shot went above the bar.
Nepali dominated the second half of the match in terms of ball possession and made few beautiful attempts but all in vain. Overall, Nepal performed poor despite getting many chances to score. Spectators who were cheering the Nepali players were disappointed after they failed to score a single goal.
In the 53rd minute, Lebanese goalkeeper Mahmoud made a long stretch dive to save a sitter from Santosh Thapa from inside the box. Similarly skipper Sulav´s another shot was also blocked by the goalie.
Nepali coach Dambar Gurung who claimed to have the strong mid-field in the team earlier said the mid-fielders were unable to meet his expectations. Gurung was also dissatisfied with the strikers´ performance. He said, "Our strikers got many chances, but failed to utilize them." Gurung vowed to come up with a fresh strategy in another match.
Commenting on Nepal´s performance, Lebanon´s Israeli coach Ismail Kortam said though Nepali players played well they did not play from a particular position and failed to score. "We got a few opportunities and successfully utilized them."
Tajikistan defeat Bahrain
Tajikistan defeated Bahrain 2-0 in the opening match of the event at the same venue.
Bahrain, who were limited to 10 men in the 25th minute after A Rahman got the marching orders in for hitting a Tajik player with his elbow, conceded the first goal in the 28th minute.
Tajikistan scored their first goal through a free kick from Muhtojzoda Ibrohimi´s shot from outside the box after a Tajik player was brought down by an opponent player. Tajikistan showed good coordination but poor finishing. Still, Dilshod doubled the advantage in 73rd minute through a superb shot from about 35 yards to seal the match.
Bahrain which came up with better performance in the second half missed few chances of scoring. In a desperate bid to hit back, they launched three consecutive attacks after conceding the second goal but none of them went inside the net.
Bahrain coach Adnan Abdulla Ebrahim attributed the defeat to the loss of a player while conceding that his team also made some mistakes. Despite winning the match, Tajik coach Zoir Babaeu admitted that the opponents performed well.
Earlier, Tajik captain Rasulov Dilshod missed a penalty in the 22nd minute.
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