Hosts Nepal registered a second 1-0 victory in a row over visiting Mauritius in the last game of the two-match international friendly although the game wrapped up in an unfriendly manner at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar on Tuesday.

Four red cards – two to Mauritius players, two to members of Nepal squad including goalkeeping coach Bikash Malla — and 11 yellow cards were among the highlights of the game which saw Sujal Shrestha's early goal turn out to be the decisive. Also, thanks to a penalty save by Nepal captain Kiran Limbu promptly after taking the lead.

Apart from on-field trouble, the floodlights at the stadium dimmed in the late second half forcing the play to stop for about 10 minutes.

The first match played on Saturday had also ended in 1-0.

"Players fight sometimes in the friendly and it is normal," Nepal's Kuwaiti coach Abdullah Almutairi said at the post-match conference. "They play for 90 minutes and in the end it was good. It is also an experience."

Mauritius coach Tony Francois said that he would take responsibility for the red cards of his players. "Though it was a friendly match, everyone wants to win. My players lack experience and they got provoked. They would gain experience from the incident in the next match," said Francois.

Coming into the second match, Nepal retained five players from the last squad including goalie and captain Limbu, defenders Devendra Tamang and Dinesh Rajbanshi, and midfielders duo Anjan Bista and Tej Tamang in the starting line. Defender Nabin Gurung marked debut in the national squad appearing in the starting XI.

Both Nepal and Mauritius came up with improved show in comparison to their last outing. Nepal, backed by roaring home supporters, took an early 10th minute lead through Shrestha who netted his third international goal. Midfielder Shrestha, who played in both roles as midfielder in the first half and defender in the later stage, gave a finishing touch just a few feet from the goalline. He found Aashish Lama's strike from the edge of the area in a crowded zone before Pujan Uperkoti set for him in a corner delivery by debutant Nabin Gurung.

Mauritius wasted a golden scoring opportunity two minutes later after skipper Andy Sophie was denied a penalty by goalkeeper Chemjong. The shot stopper dived to his left to deny a low ball strike by Sophie after the visiting side were awarded a penalty for a foul on Linsley Brass by defender Dinesh Rajbanshi inside the danger zone.

Nepal made two attempts in the late first half when Tamang's 25-yard strike sailed inches wide after he quickly applied a scorcher at the open net. A few minutes later forward Darshan Gurung headed above the bar.

Nepal coach Almutairi brought in winger Dangi and forward Bimal Gharti Magar at the start of the second half replacing Nabin Gurung and Aashish Lama. Nepal then shifted their 4-3-3 formation to 3-4-3 in the second half.

Gharti Magar failed to meet second half substitute Suman Malla's cross inside the area despite an attempt for a diving header. Dangi also volleyed wide from close range. Mauritius’ Fernando Jackson threatened in the mid second half when he unleashed a powerful scorcher from the edge before goalie Limbu thwarted the ball.

The later stage of the match turned tense with Pujan Uperkoti, coach Bikash Malla and Mauritius midfielder Adrien Boltar all given marching orders in the 80th minute by referee Nabindra Maharjan. Uperkoti saw a second yellow after he hurled the ball at the face of Boltar before the whole team got involved in a scuffle. Coach Malla, who ran towards the pitch, was also shown red. The play was halted for four minutes. In the 84th Mauritius defender Emmauel Foolchund was also sent off after seeing a second yellow.

The floodlights of the stadium got dim before eight minutes of the stoppage time was shown. The play resumed nearly after 10 minutes.

Mauritius coach Francois said that his side played better in comparison to the last match. "Today we played better than in the last game. Though we got scoring opportunities, we failed to utilise them," he said, repeating that they were playing after a long time and Nepal were a strong side.

Nepal's coach Almutairi, who had announced two separate squads for the friendlies but comprising 12 common players, said that the outcome would be very much helpful in uplifting Nepal's FIFA rankings and for Asian Cup Qualifiers. "The players showed that they can fight against the physically superior opponents. The main thing is they played a fearless game today and it is more important than the results," he said, adding that the match outcome was better than his expectations.