KATHMANDU: Nepal slumped to 2-0 defeat against the hosts Kyrgyz Republic in their opening match of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers played at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on Tuesday.

Kyrgyz Republic broke the dead-lock on the 21th minute after Gulzhigit Borubaev made a surging run into the plenty area from right flank before coolly notching ball home.

Nepal controlled the game in the first twenty minute, however, lack of penetration pass in the final third failed to muster a single shot on goal.

After the break, Nepal upped their tempo in search of equaliser, however, the host's rearguard was equal to the task as they thwarted visiting team's attacking play with ease to preserve the lead.

In the dying seconds of the match, Alimardon Shukurov snatched a late goal for the hosts to negate any late drama in the remaining minutes of the game.

During the post-match conference, Nepal's Head Coach Chhiring Lopsang said, "Unfortunately, we couldn't play as we would have liked, Kyrgyz Republic played well and achieved good result. The tournament is not over, we will prepare to do well in our next fixture,".

Similarly, Krygyz Republic Head Coach Nikolai Iuzhanin said, "In the beginning, the players were worried but they were able to calm down and take conrol of the match. The team didn't give Nepal opportunity to create serious impact. It is good that we started with a victory but we still have things to work on,".

Nepal pitted against the hosts Krygyz Republic, Bahrain, Oman and United Arab Emirates in Group A will take on the Gulf nation of Bahrain on Thursday.