Nepal and Bhutan played a 1-1 draw in their first game of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimpu, Bhutan, on Wednesday.

The visitors raised the bars with a goal in just 38 seconds into the game. Senu Pariyar scored it as Nepal capitalised on a mistake by Bhutanese defenders near the 18-yard box.

Nepal, who had defeated Bhutan 6-1 and 8-0 in the SAFF Championship in Bangladesh on July 11 and 18, respectively, could not score more.

Despite the poor results less than a month ago, Bhutan made a great comeback at home. Kelden Wangmo scored the equaliser in the 38th minute with a shot from between three Nepali defenders and over goalie Lila Joshi, who had come ahead of the six-yard box.

In the pre-tournament conference on Tuesday, Bhutan’s head coach Tanka Maya Ghalley had said that her team had rectified the mistakes from the SAFF tournament and were ready to give positive results in the Asian Qualifiers. And as she said, Bhutan gave their home fans a memory to cherish on Wednesday.

The Asian Qualifiers feature 32 teams competing for 11 spots at the Asian Cup in Thailand next year. The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four each, with the group toppers and the three best second-placed teams progressing to the biggest stage.

The draw has, thus, decreased Nepal’s chance of qualifying not only as the group topper but also as one of the best second-placed teams. It is because Nepal have a tougher path ahead with one fixture against North Korea, defending champion of the Asian Cup and three-time World Cup winners in the age category, in Group A.

North Korea have proved their challenge scoring 15 goals against Saudi Arabia in the first game of the group at the same venue on the same day.

Nepal are certain to have a difficult time against North Korea as they did not show any good football against Bhutan, a team ranked 71 places below them in Fifa Women’s World Ranking. Nepal are ranked 100th while North Korea sit at ninth place.

“There was a problem due to the floodlight,” Nepal’s coach Yam Prasad Gurung said after the draw. “However, in whole, Bhutan played better than us. There was some underestimation due to the SAFF results.”

Nepali players were struggling to create a good combination throughout the game. They also played numerous mispasses, similar to Bhutan, and were on the verge of conceding more while failing to extend the lead.

Nepal will play Saudi Arabia on August 8 and North Korea on August 10.