Sri Lanka held Nepal to a 1-1 draw and moved into the quarter-finals from Group B in the AFC Challenge Cup here at the MA Aziz Stadium on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's Mohamed Izzadeen Mohamed Naufer celebrate after scoring against Nepal

The victory saw them top the group with seven points while Nepal have four points and will have to wait for Brunei-Bhutan match to know their fate in this 16-team event. Sri Lanka will take on Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals on April 8.

Sri Lanka had the first crack at the goal in the 17th minute when Chathura Madurange Weerasingha’s shot from about 25 yards hit the crossbar and in the very next minute Mohamed Izzadeen Mohamed Naufer’s curler on a corner stormed into the net to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Nepal got two good opportunities before the breather but Vishad Gouchan hit wide in the 29th minute and Tashi Tsering’s header in the 37th minute was cleared on the goalline by Sri Lankan defender Kamaldeen Fuard.

Nepal dominated after the restart and their frontline coordinated well making some good moves. In the 59th minute a solo effort from Nepal’s Raju Tamang was cleared by Sri Lanka’s Sanjaya Pradeep Kumara.

They were awarded a penalty in the 74th minute when Sanjaya brought down Bijay Gurung inside the area. Pradeep Maharjan made no mistake to restore the parity for Nepal.

Nepal’s Basanta Thapa missed a golden chance in the dying moments of the game when his shot sailed over the bar.

“We played good football but problem of finishing skills still persists in our strikers. We dominated the match and got chances also but unfortunately again they failed to score,” Nepal coach Shyam Thapa said.

Sri Lanka coach Sampath Perera was happy with the result. “We were under little bit of pressure before the game but I am happy that we topped the group. After the first goal we decided to strengthen our defence line as a draw was enough for us,” he said.