Nepal lose to India 2-1 in second friendly match

Despite an improved performance, Nepal once again fell short and suffered loss at the hands of India for the 14th time

Hemanta Shrestha/TKP

Nepal lost 2-1 against India in the second international friendly match at the Dasharath Stadium, Tripureshwor on Sunday.

Despite showing an improved performance in comparison to the first match, Nepal failed to capitalise on their first half performance and conceded two goals in the second half which was enough for the visitors to claim their 14th victory against the hosts.

Farukh Haji Kasam Choudhary opened the scoresheet for the visitors in the 62nd minute. This was the first promising chance created by India and Farukh, unmarked by Nepali defenders, punished Nepal with the goal.
India doubled their lead in the 80th minute in a counter attack. India skipper Sunil Chhetri collected a through-ball and beat Nepal captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu to give India a two-goal cushion.
Nepal had three promising chances in the second half but the only goal for Abdullah Almutairi’s men came in the 86th minute. Tej Tamang, a defensive midfielder, fired a powerful shot from outside the penalty area for his first international goal.
The game took an interesting turn following Nepal’s goal, but it was too little too late for Nepal to find an equaliser against the South Asian giants.
The first friendly had ended in a 1-1 draw.

Skipper Limbu made history by winning the highest 74 caps, surpassing former captain Biraj Maharjan’s record of 73 caps.