New Delhi: Kyrgyzstan thrashed Sri Lanka 4-1 in their last round robin match to finish third in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.
Anton Zemlianuhin (34th), Ildar Amirov (45), Mirlan Murzaev (65) and Rustem Usanov (70) were on target as Kyrgyzstan, the tournament’s lowest-ranked team at 160th in the FIFA rankings, walked away with a cheque of $10,000.
Chatura Maduranga Weerasinghe scored the solitary goal for Sri Lanka in the 53rd minute as the island nation finished fifth with three points.
Kyrgyzstan were tied with Lebanon with four points, but finished third on a better goal difference.
Kyrgyzstan applied pressure on the Sri Lankan defence from the start and missed some close chances in the first 10 minutes.
The Central Asian team took the lead when Vadim Harchenko’s cross in the box found an unmarked Zemlianuhin, whose powerful right-footer crashed into the net.
Kyrgyzstan doubled the lead few seconds before the breather after Amirov made a solo run into the box and shot past goalkeeper Asanka Viraj.
Eight minutes into the second half, Sri Lankan captain Weerasinghe headed in from a flag-kick to reduce the margin.
Kyrgyzstan stepped up the accelerator in the last 15 minutes and Harchenko’s pin-point cross found Murzaev, who nodded past Viraj. Five minutes later, Usanov dodged past the Sri Lankan defenders and slotted home.
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