Nepal hold Malaysia

Nepal held Malaysia XI to a goalless draw in the second Group A fixture of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday.

The stalemate left hosts Bangladesh on top of the group with three points, two ahead of joint second-placed Nepal and Malaysia XI while Sri Lanka are at the bottom with no points.

Both defending champions Malaysia and Nepal had a number of opportunities to notch a win, but the forwards of both sides squandered the chances.

Malaysia, comprising FELDA United FC players, dominated the first half and produced a couple of good chances but national midfielder Ahme Syamim Yahya failed to beat Nepal goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu with a free-header in the ninth minute before Bobby Gonzales floated his header over the bar in the 19th minute.

Nepal, comprising 10 players from the recent SAFF Suzuki Cup campaign, looked better in the latter part of the first half and launched two good attacks but Malaysia goalkeeper Farizal Harun thwarted the efforts from Bikram Lama and Nawayug Shrestha.

The second half belonged to Nepal, who were deprived of the lead after a drive from Jagajit Shrestha came off the post in the 63rd minute. Two minutes later, Anjan Bista saw goalkeeper Farizal deny him. The Malaysian goalkeeper once again rescued his side thwarting an effort from Bimal Ghatri Magar in the 79th minute as the two sides shared the spoils of a goalless draw.

Both the coaches were happy with the result and hoped to improve match by match.

“This was our first game, but I am happy with the performance of the boys even though we could have scored many goals,” said Malaysia coach Irfan Bakti.

“I am quite happy with the performance but the result did not suit us. We got many chances to score but the forwards could not convert those. We are looking forward to qualifying for the next round as we still have two matches left,” said Nepal coach Bal Gopal Maharjan.