Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021: Maldives moves up table after beating Sri Lanka

Maldives has moved up the “Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021” table after beating Sri Lanka during Sunday’s game.

Sri Lanka lost the game played at the National Football Stadium on Sunday evening, 1 – 0.

Five minutes into the beginning of the match, Sri Lanka’s midfielder Chalana Chameera scored a goal from a header, however, he was offside. A minute later Maldiives took the lead with its only score of the game, by football star Ali Ashfaq who pulled a header.

In the 14th minute, Ali Fasir attempted to score, to no avail as he hit the post.

During the first half, Maldives team saw the first change after goal keeper Mohamed Faisal got injured in the 26th minute. Mohamed Shafeeu replaced the goalie at the 30th minute.

Maldives continued to dominate ball possession as the first half drew to a close. Fasir got an excellent chance to expand the team’s lead, to no avail after his shot was blocked by the opponent team’s goalie, Sujan Perera.

A minute into the beginning of the second half of the game, Maldives took two attempts to score with Hamza Mohamed missing the net followed by a blocked header by Ibrahim Mahudhee Hussain.

The Lankan team amped up its game after this, with Dillon De Silva attempting to score in the 77th minute, his shot went wide.

Maldives got a free kick in the 88th minute, however, the ball shot by Fasir hit the goal post. Maldives’ team saw another change not long after. The replacement, Hassan Rafiu Ahmed got an opportunity to score, to no avail.

With this win, Maldives moved up to the table’s second spot with six points from three matches played. Nepal tops the table with six points from three matches played. Nepal remains first as the team scored four goals, with Maldives following closely at its tail with three scores.

Bangladesh comes third on the table with four points, with India falling behind with two points. Sri Lanka falls to the bottom of the table with one point.