Nepal’s crashing out from the tournament also meant that India progressed into the second round of joint qualifier with 2-0 goals on aggregate.
Nepal had gone down 2-0 at the away leg in Guwahati, India, on March 12. Nepal was required to beat India by three-goal margin or at least earn 2-0 win within the regulation time to force the match to additional time.
Reverse to the away leg, Nepal controlled match since the onset on Tuesday, piled up consistence pressure and created as many as dozen of scoring opportunities. But the forwards lacked cutting edge. Nepal started with three forwards -- Bimal Gharti Magar, Santosh Sahukhala and Bharat Khawas -- in 4-3-3 formation and tested all its six forwards, but all went in vain.
“We gave our best, dominated the match but we were unlucky,” said Nepal coach Jack Stefanowski. “My strikers gave their cent percent and I defend their performance.”
Nepali skipper Sagar Thapa said that drawing against India is a decent result but was not sufficient to survive in the competition.
Nepal holds Yemen to goalless draw in Asian Cup Qualifiers
“We gave our best but failed to find the back of the net. A draw in today’s match is a decent result. We met our exit because we conceded goals in away leg,” he said.
Nepal won two free kicks at the edge of its opponent’s box early in the first half but failed to capitalize on the opportunities.
Sandip Rai, who took the free kicks on both occasion, curled his first take above the bar before Bharat had failed make a decent contact from close range with no defenders closing in after Santosh Shahukhala had headed Sandip’s take into the far post into the area.
It was a dull affair from then on as both teams failed to create any telling chances and sailed into the half with a goalless stalemate.
Nepal woke up from its slumber after the restart and kept India, who withstood barrage of Nepal’s attack in the second half, on the back foot.
Nepal came closest at breaking the deadlock in the 69th minute but it could not get better of its hard luck. Sandip launched a lofty free kick deep into the Indian box after Calvin Lobo had trip down Anjan Bista. Bharat dispatched a volley from the close range but was denied by the post. It was a matter of sheer misfortune as the ball rebounded off after hitting inner side of the pole when Indian defenders and goalie, Subrata Paul saving it was out of question.
Substitute Anil Gurung also came close at giving Nepal a much needed lead in the 78th minute but he missed the frame by slightest margin. His attempt from the right bounced over the Indian goalkeeper before missing the target.
“Nepal played a very good game and we are lucky not to concede any goal. They deserved more. They kept us under pressure as the match wore on,” said Indian coach Stephen Constantine, who had once coached Nepal.
“No matter what, Nepalese spirit never waivers and it is always high. We also had trouble with the pitch condition as it is not even,” he said.
