KATHMANDU, Oct 2: Manish Dangi's decisive goal gave Nepal a historic victory over Maldives in the SAFF Championship.

Nepal defeated the previous winner Maldives 1-0 in the first match of the tournament which started in the Maldives on Friday. Manish's counter-attack goal in the 86th minute gave Nepal its first victory over Maldives in championship history.

This is the first time that the senior team has defeated Maldives. According to Nepal's Head Coach Aldullah Almutairi, Nepal improved the game play in the second half despite the pressure in the first half.

Manish Dangi said, “We had pursued a counter-attack strategy from the beginning of the game. In the end, when the Maldives came under pressure, we were able to take advantage of it.”

In the second match, Nepal will face Sri Lanka on Monday, India on October 10 and Bangladesh on October 13. The top two teams of the five-team tournament including Nepal, Maldives, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will enter the final.

 
• SAFF_championship
 
• Maldives_vs_Nepal