Kathmandu: Nepal and Hong Kong settled for a goalless stalemate in an international friendly football match played at the Hong Kong Stadium on Thursday.

Nepal’s captain and goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong made nearly half a dozen valiant saves to deny the home team in the one-sided affair.

Glovesman Kiran denied a 20-yard scorcher from Juninho Junior in the 42nd minute. In the 69th minute, he reacted quickly to deny another attack from Hong Kong. Five minutes later, he stood firm once again to deny a powerful free kick by Fernando from the edge of the area.

Forward Srijan Raj Gautam earned his first international cap, coming on as a replacement for Anjan Bista with eight minutes remaining in regular time.

Nepal faced a late setback when substitute Mani Lama was sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession during injury time. Nepal played a-man-down for the final three minutes and endured intense pressure but held firm, denying Hong Kong a late winner.

The match was played to fine-tune both sides’ preparations for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Nepal will play against Laos on June 10, while Hong Kong will face India on the same day in the qualifiers.