Nepal secured a decisive 8-0 victory over Sri Lanka in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers held at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent on Wednesday.
Sabitra Bhandari was the star of the match, netting a impressive hat-trick, taking her goal tally for the national team to 60.
With the win, Nepal climbed top of Group F with six points from two matches.
Nepal opened the scoring in the seventh minute from a set-piece as Gita rose above everyone to head the ball inside the net, with the Sri Lankan keeper beaten at her near-post.
Bhandari joined the party in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by the Sri Lankan defence, as she slotted the ball inside the net from close distance.
Bhandari and Co. kept the pressure and added a third just before half-time in the 42nd minute. Bhandari, who was in a good position inside the box, got to the end of a low cross from the left and made no mistake in finding the net from close distance.
AS IT HAPPENED: SRI vs NEP HIGHLIGHTS
Bhandari grabbed a well-deserved hat-trick in first-half stoppage-time as Nepal finished off an excellent counter-attack, with its captain finding the net from the left side of Sri Lanka’s penalty area.
There was no change in the script in the second-half as Nepal continued to dominate proceedings.
In the 53rd minute, Rashmi made her way inside the Sri Lanka box, looking for a teammate, but went down with a loose challenge from behind. The referee immediately pointed for a penalty, which Gita converted with ease for her brace.
The rout continued as Nepal again hurt Sri Lanka from a corner in the 62nd minute. Nisha was completely unmarked and got to the end of an excellent delivery to head the ball home.
With the match done and dusted and the Sri Lankans’ morale looking visibly down, Nepal did not take its foot off the pedal and continued looking for more.
In the 78th minute, second-half substitute Rekha rattled the net with a header after getting to the end of a cross from the left.
Nepal grabbed its eighth and final goal in the 89th minute courtesy of another mix-up by the Sri Lankan defence, which allowed Puja to grab the loose ball and slot the ball home.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com