India U-15 Women's football team beats hosts Bhutan to reach semi-finals of SAFF Championship

Thimphu: The Indian U-15 women’s team progressed to the semi-finals of the age-group SAFF Championship after defeating hosts Bhutan 1-0 at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4957221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Indian U-15 team will face either Nepal or Bangladesh in the semi-finals on Thursday. Twitter@IndianFootball[/caption] Shilky Devi’s 58th minute strike proved to be the difference between the two teams in a tightly contested match, in which India rattled the bar twice. The semi-finals of the championship are slated to kick off on Thursday, and India will face either Nepal or Bangladesh. Although Bhutan started the game on an attacking note and dominated possession initially, the Indian women had an excellent opportunity to go ahead in the 13th minute when Kiran failed to make the most of her chance from inside the box. In the 31st minute, India rattled the woodwork after Sunita Munda found Kritina Devi on the flanks with some crafty work. Kritina’s first-time effort from long range hit the bar and came back into play, only for her to shoot wide from the resulting ball. Five minutes later, Bhutan caught the Indian defence napping and hit the side-netting from inside the box to give the visitors a scare. Shilky Devi’s volley from inside the box in the 41st minute went inches over the bar as India continued to press.

The captain came to the rescue for the team, scoring the only goal in the game and taking the team to the semi's. #ShePower #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia pic.twitter.com/EBImlw0S8B

— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) August 13, 2018

In the 55th minute, Avika Singh’s effort from distance rattled the crossbar and three minutes later, Shilky Devi easily found the back of the net from inside the box.