Last-gasp Thakuri goal earns Nepal final berth at PM Three Nations Cup

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 29: A last-gasp goal from striker Deepak Raj Singh Thakuri helped Nepal secure a 1-1 draw with Bhutan to book the final spot at the Prime Minister Three Nations Cup on Tuesday.  A draw in the last league match of the Cup at Dasharath Stadium meant Nepal will face Laos in the final of the event on coming Friday.

Nepal remained unbeaten to earn four points from two matches. Laos secured the final place by finishing in the second position with three points.

Bhutan crashed out of the tournament after finishing at the bottom of the table with a single point. The event was played in a single-round robin league, with the top two teams vying for a title. 

Nepal beat Laos by 2-0 in the opener of the Cup last Wednesday. Laos registered a 2-1 victory over Bhutan last Friday.

After entering the first final with Nepal, Italian Coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese said the national squad played very well despite many national players leaving for abroad. He, however, conceded that the first-half performance was not better. 

"We didn't do well in the first half against the visiting team. We changed the match tempo in the second half with an improved performance and succeed to pull out a draw, which send us to the final as the winner of the league round," Coach Alberto said.

"We are better in the ball possession. We have created 4-5 clear-cut chances in the second half.  We made some mistakes in the first half but we learn from them in the second half.

“We have a very short time to prepare for the series, I still need to understand my players, we will definitely improve in the final match," Coach Alberto added.  

Defender Tenzin Norbu scored the leading goal for the visitors in the 19th minute. Unmarked Defender Norbu headed home the corner off Dawa Tshering to score a maiden leading goal against its regional rival.

Before this Nepal and Bhutan played 12 official matches. Nepal won all 12 matches. This is the first time Nepal played a 1-1 draw against Bhutan.

After conceding a goal in front of more than 6000 partisan crowds at Dasarath Stadium, Nepali players tried their best to come back in the match. 

Substitute striker Thakuri restored the parity for the home team as he headed home in the 90th minute.  Defender Ananta Tamang headed the corner off substitute Nishan Khadka to Thakuri, who nodded it into Bhutan’s back of the net. 

The goal was the first international goal for Thakuri, who replaced Anjan Bista in the 51st minute. He was playing his second game in national colours. Thakuri made his national team debut against Laos last Wednesday.

Thakuri is playing in the first-tier league from the Satdobato Youth Club. He is also the leading scorer in the Martyr’s Memorial A Division League with four goals. The league is under the FIFA break.

Ayush Ghalan of Nepal was declared the Player of the match for his remarkable performance against Bhutan.

After playing a historical draw against Nepal, Bhutan’s Coach Pema Pema thanked the supporters. 

"We played as per our plan but we conceded a goal after conceding the corner in the dying minute of the match. I am very much disappointed  because of crashing out from the title race in the wee hour." 

"We will come back to Kathmandu with an improved performance next time. We fielded the first 11 against Nepal which played against Laos last Friday. “We are always mentally down against Nepal. This is changed today after stopping Nepal to a draw for the first time," Coach Pema added.

Coach Pema expressed that he was glad about the performance of his boys against Nepal at the home ground. “Nepal's performance was not good as per their previous performance, Bhutan will beat Nepal in the coming days,” he warned.