Hosts Nepal averted a first ever defeat to Bhutan after substitute forward Dipak Raj Singh Thakuri scored a stoppage-time goal to salvage a 1-1 draw in the last group match of the Prime Minister’s Three Nations Cup at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar on Tuesday.

However, the home team had to settle for first ever draw against the South Asian minnows in almost four decades since the two sides first played an official competitive match in the 1984 South Asian Federation Games.

The draw, however, was enough for Nepal to book a place in the final as they had defeated Laos 2-0 in their opening game while Bhutan had gone down to Laos 2-1. Even a two goal margin defeat would have been sufficient for Nepal to progress into the final.

But the outcome was a harsh blow to Bhutan, who came into the game looking for a must win over the hosts to secure the final berth. The final scheduled for Friday will now see Laos vying against Nepal.

Nepal finished on top of the standings with four points, one point ahead of runners up Laos. Bhutan walked away with one point.

“We are happy to have secured a draw against Nepal because we never avoided defeat against Nepal in the history of football,” Bhutan’s coach Pema Dorji said at the post match conference. “Today we were dominant in the game, controlling ball possession and threatening the opponents more often.”

As said by coach Dorji, Bhutan were a far better side. They kept possession and control, and took a lacklustre Nepal by surprise, opening the score in the 19th minute. Unmarked Tenzin Norbu drove a low header past captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu to stun noisy supporters and take the lead over Nepal for the first time in footballing history.

While Bhutan made as many as four attempts on goal in the first half, Nepal’s only remarkable attempt on goal came in the 45th minute before rookie defender Sanish Shrestha’s header from the crowded area in Nabin Lama’s corner sailed above bar after header touches from Ananta Tamang and Pujan Uperkoti.

Anjan Bista had come closer to scoring in the early second half after he found a ball deflected at Manish Dangi inside the area, but Bhutan’s goalie Tshering Dendup rescued the visitors, sprinting quickly to grab the ball and also collide with forward Bista, who was stretchered off. He was replaced by Thakuri in the 51st minute.

Bhutan threatened Nepal yet again in the 64th after Phuntsho Jigme applied a low ball strike in Dawa Tshering’s corner forcing goalie Limbu into action. Forward Thakuri, under tight marking of Bhutanese defender, fired above the bar after he was set by Erik Bista.

Dangi, who replaced forward Nawayug Shrestha at the start of second half, could have levelled in the 79th after he dispossessed Phuntos Jigme before firing wide from a tight angle.

But Thakuri rescued the Gorkhalis from the jaws of historic defeat against the run of play in the 90th minute. Bhutan goalkeeper Tshering Dendup will especially rue the draw as his unsuccessful attempt to punch the corner from substitute Nishan Khadka allowed Ananta Thapa to lift the ball over him before substitute Thakuri, who was left unattended, took full advantage of it to head into the empty post.

The last-gasp goal saved Nepal from an embarrassing defeat against the South Asian minnows but the draw will still serve as a wake-up call for the new coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.

Nepal’s Italian coach Annese, however, claimed that there were lots of improvements in the team. He said that they failed in the first half. “We created some clear chances, but failed to capitalise on them,” he said. “We will try to perform better in the next game.”