Nepal seemed satisfied after the final whistle at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in Malaysia on Tuesday. They did not win, nor did they play a draw, but they were not troubled by losing the match, which was the fifth group-stage loss in the Third Round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Malaysia, the hosts, were on the attack, while the visitors were busy in defence. And if it was not for the wall of Nepal, goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong, disallowing several goals for the home side, Nepal would have suffered a heavy defeat.

The Gorkhalis were able to keep the score from ticking until the first half. However, as the hosts came back with a more attacking mindset, Faisal Hamil found the back of the net in the 56th minute.

Malaysia created many more chances but Nepal held their ground. Malaysia’s best chance to extend the lead was missed by Paulo Josue, who came in as a substitute in the 73rd minute, as he shot outside the frame in the penalty they earned in the injury time. Nepal were then down to 10 men after Laken Limbu was shown red, the result of the foul that gave Malaysia the penalty.

As per head coach Hari Khadka, the defensive playing style was what the team had discussed to implement in the game. “We had also planned for the counterattack when fit, but we failed in that part,” Khadka said in the post-match conference.

Nepal had previously lost 0-2 to Malaysia on March 25.

Nepal are still pointless in the Third Round of the Qualifiers. Placed in Group F with Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos, Nepal have now played two matches each against Malaysia and Vietnam, and have lost all four of them.

Nepal will now face Laos in the last match of the qualifier. Laos were the only opponent against whom Nepal had a clear winning chance in the tournament, as the Gorkhalis had never lost to the Land of a Million Elephants in their last six encounters. But in the seventh, Laos won 2-1 and stunned Nepal. The two will now meet on March 31 next year.