Gurgaon: Afghanistan put one foot in the qualifying tournament proper for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup with a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their play-off with Bhutan.
Sediq Walizada was the hero for Afghanistan with a hat-trick that put Mohammad Yosuf Kargar’s side firmly in contention to join defending champions DPR Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka in qualifying Group D which is scheduled to kick-off on April 7.
Walizada, who scored two of Afghanistan’s three goals in their 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign in November 2009, gave the Afghans the perfect start in Wednesday’s match when the 20-year-old opened the scoring with just 120 seconds at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium played.
Walizada scored again in the 36th minute to give his side a comfortable two-goal cushion at the break before completing his hat-trick with ten minutes of the match remaining.
