A piece of misplaced exuberance by the mid-fielder brooked a second yellow card for rough play by Thai referee Jindamai Russamee. But with just two minutes of regulation time remaining, the runners-up at the last SAFF event were hardly perturbed nor stretched in forcing split honours against fancied Sri Lanka at a sparsely attended Nehru Stadium today.

The barren Group B encounter in the six-nation event left fans pining for a goal after India and Bangladesh failed to score yesterday. A goal promised by early running by either side never came and the Sri Lankans were the more rueful after setting up five clear chances.

The Lankans were not too unhappy at the end of the day although coach Hassimdeen said he had to effect changes in his prodigal forward line. The seasoned Roshan Perera failed when ideally placed on three occasions. Andironically, the Man of the Match award went to a Sri Lankan defender -- Mohammed Anees who stood firm in the wake of a second half Maldives effort to break the deadlock.

The Maldives, not afraid to come out and play, had the Lankans on tenterhooks thanks to fine mid-field control by Mohammed Hussain and sprightly efforts by Mohammed Wildhan and Mohammed Nizam in the strike force. But if a point came their way, Maldives' owe goalkeeper Ishag Easa, who brilliantly foiled F Fowzan in the dying minutes. A sliding tackle to deflect for a corner not only disappointed Fowzan but also an increasingly disillusioned audience looking for the tournament's first goal.

Early pressure for Sri Lanka had skipper Perera going close. The first chance in the second minute after Amanullah, another familiar face in the country, shooting just wide.

Roshan's namesake Isuru and Amanullah then combined on the left only for the Lankan captain to fail to score with a simple tap, just minutes later.

Both Amanullah, training just10 days after a trip to Haj, and Roshan then agonised in unison after Isuru's cross from the left came to naught.

Maldives had their moments, albeit fleeting, but the rare chance had the look of goal pasted on it. Wildhan failed in a one-to-one situation with goalkeeper Sugath Tilakaratne from a Nizam cross and the duo came close to conjuring a goal in the 34th minute from a free-kick.

Perera, once again, proved Lanka's villain of the piece when he spurred yet another good opportunity from mid-fielder Bagoos' cross and the second half continued to bring the Lankan captain more disappointed.

Teams
Sri Lanka: Sugath Tilekeratne, Dudly Stainwall, Imthiya Rahim, Mohammed Anees, P Wickramathilake, Mohammed Kabeer (Kasun Jayasuriya), Imran Mohammed, IN Bagoos, M Amanullah (Fowzan), Roshan Perera, Isuru Perera.

Maldives: Ishag Easa, Ali Shahin, Mohammed Ibrahim, Hussain Luthfee, Mohammed Nizam, Abdulla Waheed, Shah Ismail (Mausoon Abdul Ghafoor), Yoosuf Azeem, Mohammed Widhan,Mohammed Hussain, Ali Shiham.

Yellow cards: Abdulla Waheeda (66th minute and 88th minute).

Red card: Abdulla Waheeda (88th).

History favours Pak
Pakistan hope for an encore of sorts in the SAFF Coca-Cola Cup football tournament. Coach Mohammad Idres, a former striker, says his team will beat India as they beat hosts Nepal at the last SAFF event in Kathmandu two seasons ago.

Idres proclaimed: ``Inshah-Allah, we will beat India on their home ground.'' Cheeky or not, Pakistan represent one of the latent powers of Asian soccer. Starved of finance and recognition but not lacking in enthusiasm and energy.

The Pakistanis, arriving only last evening because of a `technical problem' a euphemism, if ever there was one. But they wasted no time in getting on the Nehru Stadium pitch and confirmed that conditions were the same as that back home.

But for all the ambitions, Pakistan will focus on the immediate task at hand playing Bangladesh tomorrow. The Bangladeshis, upbeat on acreditable draw against India, will take some beating but Pakistan will tread the pitch with history on their side. Two previous meetings ended in two victories as manager Mohammed Latif, a former national goalkeeper, reflected on 1989 and 1991.

The Pakistanis have been training for a month but haven't played an international since the 1997 SAFF event where they finished third. Top medio Haroon Yusuf is the cynosure and he will count on striker Omar as well as Basheer and Zahed Rafique in defence.

Bangladesh's Iraqi coach Shamir Mahmoud Shaker said he would retain the 11 that started against India. He said the focus will be on a positive result tomorrow, as another draw could be fatal.