Kathmandu, March 28

Deepak Raj Singh Thakuri scored the equaliser in the dying moments as Nepal salvaged a 1-1 draw with Bhutan in the Prime Minister Three Nations Cup here at the Dasharath Stadium today.

The draw was enough for Nepal to advance to the final against Laos but the stalemate was first for Bhutan in 14 matches. Nepal had won all 13 previous matches against Bhutan. Nepal, who topped the table with four points from three matches, will play against Laos - who advanced as runners-up with three points - in the final match on Friday. Bhutan crashed out of the tournament but they could walk away on a high with historic draw against Nepal.

Bhutan took the lead in the 20th minute when Tenzin Norbu found the back of the nets with a header following a corner from Dawa Tshering. Nepali defenders and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu remained unmoved as Norbu ran towards the ball and headed home from close.

Nepal earned a corner kick at a time when the match was heading towards the end. With Nepal goalkeeper Limbu also inside the opponent's penalty area, substitute Singh produced a moment of brilliance and scored the equaliser with a header on Ananta Tamang's assist following a corner kick from Nishan Khadka in the 90th minute bringing the 7,000-strong crowd to its feet.

In a dismal show from the home team, Nepal not only struggled to keep the ball possession but also failed to create ample opportunities in the match. Nepal came close to levelling the scores in the first half injury time but Sanish Shrestha headed over the bar from close after Pujan Uperkoti headed towards the goal.

Nepal lost striker Anjan Bista in the second minute of the latter half after he collided with Bhutan goalkeeper Tshering Dendup. Bista was replaced by Thakuri. The home team created a couple of scoring chances in the second half but the forward line failed to fire. Thakuri shot wide from inside the box in the 70th minute, while Manish Dangi could not control the ball in a counter attack a minute later. Dangi shot wide in the 78th minute, while Ayush Ghalan could not trouble Bhutan goalkeeper Dendup after being fed by Sanish Shrestha.

The three league round matches were played under FIFA Day and they all had international friendly status. The final between Nepal and Laos will not have international status.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 29, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.