New Delhi, August 22: Sri Lanka rode on a hat-trick by MNM Issadeen to stun Lebanon 4-3 in a thrilling round-robin match of the Nehru Cup international football tournament at Ambedkar Stadium here today.
The result will brighten India’s chances of making it to the final.
Lebanon, who beat India 1-0 in the tournament opener, were leading 2-1 at the breather with goals from Akram Moghrabi (ninth minute) and Ali Al Saad (45th) after Issadeen had given Sri Lanka side a surprised lead in the seventh minute.
In the second half, MNM Issadeen struck two more (80th and 88th) and captain Chathura Maduranga found the target in the 83rd minute before Mohammad Korhani reduced the margin in the injury time in the match that saw two red cards, one each on each side.
Sri Lanka’s victory in their campaign opener would meant that Lebanon have just three points from two matches and that should be good news for defending champions India, who play Kyrgyzstan tomorrow after losing to Lebanon in their first match.
In the best match of the five-nation tournament so far on Ambedkar Stadium pitch, Lebanon played with 10 men for most part of the game while a Sri Lankan was shown red card in the injury time. .
—PTI