Nepal held the Bangladesh women’s football team to a 1-1 draw at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur on Thursday.
Sabitra Bhandari scored an equalizer in the last minute of the game.
In the 65th minute, replacement Shaheda Akter Ripa played a great through ball to the Bangladesh captain, who then put the ball past Nepal goalie Anjila Tumbabo Subba. This broke the tie.
But Sabina missed an easy goal 10 minutes later because she took too long with the ball when she was through on goal, giving Subba time to clear the ball. Sabitra, who was the top scorer in the Indian women’s league this year, got the equalizer two minutes into extra time. She poked the ball in from close range after the Bangladesh defense failed to clear the danger.
This was Bangladesh’s first game since their famous SAFF run in September of last year, when they won their first SAFF title by beating Nepal 3-1 in the final. Bangladesh has only won once against the women from the Himalayas. The women in red and green have lost to the women from the Himalayas six times and tied with them twice.
On Sunday, the same place will host the second and final game of the two-game series between the two teams.