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It's India as expected

AL MUSABBIR SADI from Karachi
India maintained their superior record against Maldives when the two-time champions beat the Indian Ocean islanders 1-0 in the first semifinal to enter the final of the Fourth
SAFF Championship here today.
Left fullback Manju struck the allimportant goal at the People's Sports Complex Stadium with a header in the 38th minute as India reached their third final in the history of the championship with their sixth victory against Maldives in eight internationals.
Maldives, the in-form team who came to the knockout match having scored 11 goals in the group stage, never looked at ease and choked against a more matured-looking India, who had lost only once to the tiny island in their previous seven meetings.
Maldives, who left almost eight players back in their own territory, however dominated the first quarter with Ashfaq, Thariq and Umar Ali combining in all their attacks. But the trio failed to penetrate a tidy Indian defence.
India, who played the waiting game, only looked dangerous from
set-pieces and Climax Lawrence's 18th minute corner unsettled the whole rival defence, allowing Ajayan a freehit from handshaking distance. But the Indian midfielder spoiled the chance with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Ashfaq, reportedly being chased by Portugal First Division side Benfica, found the opposition net five minutes later but his effort was disallowed for a foul on Indian keeper Sandip Nandy.
The Maldives forward, however, ruined the easiest chance of the day five minutes later when Thariq set him up in front of the barren post with a left-flank square pass. But Ashfaq's weak placing shot past the goalie was cleared from the goalline by centre-back Suresh, who got immediate pats on the back from his teammate.
India finally broke the deadlock from another setpiece in the 38th minute. The Maldives backline once again failed to clear a corner by Venkatesh from the right and fullback Manju's diving header gave Imran no chance at the Maldives goal.
The islanders suffered a severe blow in the first-half injury time when their key midfielder Umar Ali picked up a serious injury. He was heavily missed in the second-half as they failed to make any impact on the rival goal after the break.
Desperate to find the equaliser, Maldives coach Iordan Stoikov made two more changes but without any avail. Substitute Ismail, however, threatened to score from his minus after a darting left-flank run in the 71st minute deflected off an Indian defender but the ball went across the pitch harmlessly after hitting the sidebar.
India raided the opponents' penalty area often but only Baichung Bhutia came close to scoring six minutes after the break but his close-range shot was shielded by centre-back Jameel.
Indian coach Syed Nayeemu-ddin seemed pretty happy with the result.
"I think we have made notable improvement in the tournament and my team have played almost up to their potential," Nayeemu-ddin told after the match.
"Whether it's defending champions Bangladesh or hosts Pakistan in the final, my boys are ready for them," the elated veteran added.
Maldives' Bulgarian coach was unhappy with his team for not playing as they had been doing in the group stage.
"India are always a traditionally big opposition for us and my team made a nervous start. I don't know why my attacking trio was below par. It cost us the game," said
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Stoikov.
Yellow cards: Mehtab, Climax (India)
TEAMS
INDIA: Sandip, Surkumar, Suresh, Gawli, Manju, Venkatesh, Climax, Mehtab (Hakkim, 73rd minute), Ajayan, Rahim Nabi and Baichung.
MALDIVES: Imran, Jameel, Sabah (Habeeb, 78th), Assad, Nasir (Luthfy, 69th), Gasim, Fajeel, Shafan, Umar (Ismail, 46th), Ashfaq and Thariq.
Referee: Al Yarimi Mukhtar (Yemen)