Kyrgyz Republic hold Myanmar

Imphal: A late equalizer from Kyrgyz Republic in the 95th minute on Saturday enhanced the excitement of the last match of the Tri-Nation Tournament here as their tie against Myanmar ended in a 1-1 draw.

After Myanmar took the lead in the 81st minute thro- ugh Aung Thu, Kyrgyzstan's Zhyrgalbek Uulu Kairat earned them the equalizer in the 95th minute to send Myanmar out of contention for the title. It also means that Kyrgyzstan will need a victory against hosts India on Tuesday to bring to fruition their hopes of winning the trophy.

Myanmar coach Michael Feichtenbeiner made four changes to the lineup that took on India in the last match, including defender Ye Min Thu, whose mistake in the box led to Anirudh Thapa's winner, as well as goalkeeper Sann Sat Naing.

Kyrgyz Republic had the lion's share of chances-including more than half a dozen dead-ball opportunities - in the first half with Shukorov Alimadol almost getting a breakthrough from a long- range strike.

However, the best chance of the half came to Myanmar in the 39th minute when they were awarded a penalty after Kozubaev Tamirlan fouled Than Paing inside the box. But the woodwork came in the way as Kyaw Min Do miss the ensuing spot kick.

After the change of ends, Myanmar came close to scoring with Paing playing the role of creator one more time. However, this time it was Thu who failed to keep his shot from inside the box between the sticks.

Feichtenbeiner, helming Myanmar only for the second match, seemed to have infused more Vigor into his wards at half-time as the South Asian team grew in confidence as the half progressed and created more optimistic opportunities.

And their efforts finally Sion at the SAI Training Gropaid off in the 81st minute when a quickly taken free- kick by substitute Yan Naing Oo led to the ball reaching Thu who made no mistake this time in shooting it past goalkeeper Tokolaev Erzhan for his 10th goal for his country. However, there was more late drama in store as Kyrgyz stan got the all-important equaliser in the 5th minute of added time when Kairat managed to score amidst the crowd in front of the goal after a corner from skipper Alimadol.

A day after the local Mani- puri players in the squad were given a day-off by coach Igor Stimac to visit their families, the 23-member contingent took the field for only their second practice together. The entire squad underwent a rigorous two-hour training ses- And their efforts finally sion at the SAI Training Gropaid off in the 81st minute und here in the morning.