Sabitra Bhandari scored a solitary goal as Nepal defeated Malaysia 1-0 in an international women’s friendly match at the Anfa Complex on Saturday. 

Nepal dominated possession from the outset and Bhandari’s 27th minute strike was enough for the hosts to seal the victory. The win meant new Kumar Thapa began his coaching career with a victory.

The win margin could have been even bigger had not Malaysian goalkeeper Nurul Azurin Mazlan made some brilliant saves in the game. Nepal coach Kumar Thapa was all praise of Mazlan. 

“We could have easily scored two or three goals but the goalkeeper (Mazlan) was brilliant today,” said Thapa who will set forth on his first official assignment with the fourth Saff Women’s Championship beginning from December 26 in Siliguri. 

Thapa said his side is ready to go for the Saff Championship. “We almost have our set team but we can make few changes before our first match in Siliguri. Today’s friendly was a good opportunity to fine tune our performance,” said Thapa.

Malaysia coach Mohammad Asyraaf Abdullah was impressed by Nepal’s performance. 

“We have played matches against Thailand and Myanmaar in our zone but I must say I find these teams on level terms with Nepal. The team is balanced and much better than ours in terms of quality,” said the coach.

Nepal are draw in Group ‘A’ of the Saff Championship where they will meet Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Nepal have entered finals in all three previous editions of the tournament losing the title to India in all occasions.