SL defeat sends India into final

Sri Lanka’s 4-1 defeat to Kyrgyzstan confirmed India’s place in Monday’s Nehru Cup final versus Syria.

The goals came, but not for Sri Lanka. Needing to win by a huge margin to have any hopes of making it to the final, the Lankans crashed to a heavy 4-1 defeat as Kyrgyzstan ended their Nehru Cup campaign on a high at the Ambedkar Stadium on Friday.

Kyrgyzstan started the match on the brighter note, threatening the Lankan goal in the opening minutes. The islanders quickly slowed the pace of the game, keeping possession in their own half. However, neither team went close to scoring in the first half-hour.

Despite their lacklustre approach, Sri Lanka almost broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute when skipper Chathura Maduranga narrowly missed the far post after a quick one-two with Mohamed Asmeer.

Two minutes later, Kyrgyzstan took the lead. Captain Harchenko Vadim made a diagonal run inside the Lankan box and pulled it back for Zemlianuhin Anton to tap into an empty net.

The Kyrgyz team always looked more likely to score again, and not surprisingly, doubled their advantage in the 45th minute. In a rapid counter-attack, Amirov Ildar took the ball from the centre and whipped in a shot into the far corner. The goal was virtually the last shot of the first half and Kyrgyzstan went into the break leading 2-0.

With their dream of reaching the final slipping away, Sri Lanka started the second half on the front foot and immediately pulled a goal back. Collecting the ball in his own half, substitute Raumy Mohideen made a darting run on the right flank before sending in a cross for captain Maduranga to head in.

But as Lanka tried to go on the attack, they inevitably left open spaces at the back for their opponents to exploit. And Kyrgyzstan restored their two-goal cushion in the 65th minute when striker Murzaev Mirlan, just a minute after coming on, headed in Ildar's cross from the right flank.

Mirlan was the thick of things again 5 minutes later, sending Anton's free-kick across the face of the goal for Usanov Rustem to score his team's fourth.

The match ended 4-1 in Kyrgyzstan's favour, and their post-match celebrations were emulated by Indians fans as the result put the hosts in the final. Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan both finished on four points, but the latter were third among the five teams in the tournament owing to a better goal difference. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, finished last with three points.

India's match against Syria in the final round-robin encounter on Saturday will now be a dress rehearsal for the title showdown, which incidentally will be a repeat of the 2007 final.