Afghanistan hammered the Maldives 4-1 to finish on top of Group B and set up a semi-final clash with Sri Lanka in the SAFF Cup football tournament at Wholesale o-ring supplier the Greenfield Stadium here on Monday.But the lead was shortlived as the Maldives struck back from Anoush Dastiger’s defensive error. Ten minutes later, Nashid Ahmed fluffed an open chance much to the dismay of a handful of the Maldives supporters in the stands. Maldives forward Fasir Ali robbed the ball from Dastgir from just outside of the penalty box and dribbled past advancing Afghanistan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi to slot home the ball to make it 1-1. Earlier, in an inconsequential Group B match, Bangladesh routed a 10-man Bhutan 3-0. Amid the challenge from two Maldives defenders, Zubayr Amiri headed the ball into the path of Afghanistan captain Faysal Shayesteh, who sent the ball through the legs of the Maldives goalkeeper Mohamed Imran. Afghanistan scored the opener against the run of play, in their first shot on the goal. After several off-target attempts, Ahmad Hatifie scored their third goal as he sent a perfect volley to the top corner of the post as the Maldives goalkeeper Mohammed Imran could only watch.

The custodian though could have done better as he let a weak shot by Omid Popalzay beat him poorly. Omid scored from a beautiful curler free kick to restore the lead for the Afghans in the first half and he completed his brace in the second half to seal the match.However, Omid Popalzay put Afghanistan ahead again as he curled in beautifully a 20-yard free kick to end the first half in the defending champions’ favour.It were the islanders who came close to taking the lead but the Maldives forwards failed to connect a well taken Hassan Naiz free kick in the seventh minute of play.The Maldives goalie almost gifted the opponents another goal in the 66th minute but was lucky this time as a weak long-ranger taken by Mustafa Zazai slid through the ’keeper’s gloves only to hit the post..Contrary to the scoreline, the Maldives began the match on high intensity but midfielder Omid Popalzay turned the tide twice for Afghanistan to give them their third consecutive victory in the tourney. The result means India will face the Maldives in the first semi-final on December 31.Afghanistan dictated terms in the second half as a defensive reshuffle helped them to gain more momentum.

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