Maldives confirmed their semifinals berth in the football competition of the South Asian

(SA) Games with a solitary goal win over Nepal in their Group A encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Captain Umair Mohammad's 12-minute penalty was enough to ensure Maldives their second win in

Hasan's attention, the linesman was there to spot it The referee, having consulted with the linesman, awarded Maldives with the spot kick to the anger of the Nepali players. Skipper Umair stepped up and coolly slotted the ball in the right hand corner of the net There wasn't much in terms of football from

both teams. Going one down Nepal went for broke but lacked the quality in finishing while Maldives were happy defending their lead.

Early in the second half, Bikas Malla brought down Abdul Ghani Akram inside the penalty area and the referee

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as many games while Nepal bowed out of the race with two defeats in two matches.

The match was truly a forgettable one in terms of entertainment and it was marred by controversies and ugly brawls during and after the game. It all started when Maldives got a lucky break in the 12th minute after a Nepalese defender handled the ball inside their own box while the ball was

being grasped by the goalkeeper Malla.

Though the incident escaped Bahraini referee Ali