KATHMANDU: Nepal advanced to the final of AFC Solidarity Cup, defeating Laos 3-0 in a tiebreaker following a 2-2 draw in extra time at Negeri Stadium, Kuching of Malaysia, on Saturday. Goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu succeeded in making two superb saves and emerged as hero for the Nepali side that would lock horns for the title on Tuesday, November 15 against the winners of other semifinals between Macau and Brunei. As Heman Gurung, Bikram Lama and Sujal Shreshtha converted their shots into goals for Nepal,  Limbu stood as a wall against Laotian players Bounlien Bounpachack and Sitthideth Khanthavong. Chanthaphone Waenvongsoth's out-of-target shot, however, did not pose any threat to the Nepali custodian. Earlier, Xaisongkham Champathong made the breakthrough for Laos in the 18th minute while Nepal had to wait till two minutes of the second half to level the score through Bimal Gharti Magar's header. The regular time ended in a 1-1 draw and the extra time witnessed one goal each from both the sides. Ananta Tamang's header found the net in the 104th minute but Nepal could not take advantage of the lead because Xaisongkham struck second goal for his team in the 117th minute and sent the game to the penalty shootout. Nevertheless, Nepal emerged better in the penalties and won the match. Nepal had entered the semifinals as the winners of the Group A, while Laos were the runners-up of the Group B. Head coach Gyotoku admires players Nepal's head coach Koji Gyotoku has admired the peformance of his players in today's match. After the match, the Japanese national said, 'It was a very tough game, our players played 120 minutes and this is our third match but in the last five months we had no friendly matches so the players were tired and heavy, but they didn’t stop running.” “We have one more match, the final and we need to prepare for our next match. It’s a very nice experience for me and for the players also to reach the final. I came to Nepal to develop Nepal football and this is on the way for the future. I think it’s very nice experience.' Nepal head coach Koji Gyotoku. Photo: AFC “This result is good, not so bad. Sometimes we were lucky, and sometimes we weren’t lucky. The players played better than before and this is good for us.”