Coach Naushad Moosa was forced to field an experimental side with seven changes to his starting 11, yet India were good enough to defeat Maldives 1-0 and make it to the semifinals of the SAFF Championship at National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.India struck through Suhail Ahmad Bhat, who converted a 38th-minute penalty for the only goal of the match.The defending champions topped the group and will face Bhutan in the semifinals on Saturday. Group A winners Bangladesh have been drawn to face Pakistan in the other semifinal.India needed only a draw to qualify for the knockout stage, so coach Moosa could afford to experiment. With injuries and new players coming in, it became a necessity too as just four players were retained from the starters who defeated Pakistan in the opener.The changes did not restrict India on the field as the defending champions started on the front foot. They had 70% of the possession in the first 15 minutes, took three shots, forced a save from the goalkeeper, and tried their luck from two corners. Nothing worked, until Abdul Rabeeh, dangerous on the right wing, dispossessed Hussain Sifaau Yoosuf and was brought down by the Maldives defender inside the box.Bhat stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to score his third individual goal, the highest by any player in the tournament.Maldives were poor and had little to show in the first 45 minutes. The players hardly stitched passes together, rarely threatened goalkeeper Priyansh Dubey and had just one touch inside the box. They were also wayward with their passing, shooting and a handful of freekicks.India continued to dictate the pace after the interval with Chennaiyin FC duo of Brison Fernandes and substitute Irfan Yadwad going close.Maldives grew in confidence towards the latter stages of the match and threatened to spoil India’s clean sheet. Priyansh was called into action to parry away Ibrahim Aisam’s long-range effort and another shot from Muzdhaan Hassan, which he stopped by diving full length.The India goalkeeper’s best though came in stoppage time when he blocked Ethan Ibrahim Zaki’s close-range attempt with his face to ensure there were no late setbacks.
