ISLAMABAD: Sri Lanka and Nepal reached the SAFF Women’s Championship semi-finals after recording impressive victories over Bhutan and Pakistan respectively here at the Jinnah Stadium on Friday.

Sri Lanka blanked Bhutan 3-0 while Nepal defeated Pakistan 2-0.

Against a well-drilled Nepal team, Pakistan goalkeeper Syeda Mahpara and defender Malika Noor fared brilliantly. Mahpara made several outstanding saves — a including a penalty in the 83rd minute — to help her inexperienced team avoid a big defeat at the hands of a strong Nepal outfit.

Nepalese captain Anu Lama recorded both the goals for her team, scoring the first in the 14th minute and the second on a penalty kick in the 24th.

While Nepalese women kept attacking their opponents almost throughout the match, Mahpara and Malika put up strong resistance, preventing the home team from conceding even a bigger loss.

Pakistan attack, meanwhile, proved significantly frail, to say the least. Their main strikers — Shahlyla Baloch, Sehar Zaman and captain Hajra Khan — failed badly and were not able to make even a single significant goal-scoring move in the entire match.

Earlier in the day’s first match, Sri Lanka outclassed Bhutan 3-0.

Achala Chitrani gave Sri Lanka lead in the 20th minute. Kumudumala made it 2-0 in the 40th minute as the first half ended.

Sri Lanka maintained dominance in the second half too, which gave them another goal in the 88th minute, scored by Perveena M. Perera.

Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, president of the President Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), also watched the Pakistan-Nepal match.

“I’m satisfied over the overall performance of the teem. Our team played brilliantly against the strong Nepal side,” he said, adding that he was very much optimistic that the young Pakistan team will produce good results in future.

Underlining the PFF efforts in staging this championship, Faisal said: “Organising a women’s football championship in Pakistan is no mean achievement. Even men’s sports teams of foreign countries avoid coming here [mainly due to security issues].”

Meanwhile, some PFF officials claimed that the Pakistan women’s team could have produced better results in the ongoing SAFF tournament had the management selected the team on merit.

According to these officials, two daughters of Senator Rubina Irfan, who is also chairperson of the women’s wing of the federation, were selected while compromising merit.

Senator’s daughter Sohila Zarrain was given chance to play as defender in the first match while Shahlyla Baloch was ‘selected’ as striker against Nepal but she could not come up to the expectations of PFF officials.

While their elder sister, Raheela Zarmeen, was picked for the post of assistant manager.

However, a PFF spokesman defended the selection of the senator’s daughters, saying they were ‘talented’ and deserved representing the country.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2014