MMC had to wait until the injury time of the first half to open the scoring and they sealed the victory three minutes from time.[break]
MMC will now meet another departmental team, Nepal Army Club, the runners-up of the previous edition, for a place in the last four.
Shrestha scored in a pass of Santosh Sahukhala for the first goal after APF defender failed to clear a pass supplied by their custodian Samit Rajbhandari. Shrestha then headed home a cross from Bijay Gurung to double MMC´s advantage.
The departmental team put MMC under constant pressure during the first half but MMC took control after the interval as APF could not find their rhythm after conceding the first goal. Sahukhala, the highest paid domestic footballer, squandered as many as five scoring chances for MMC and was substituted during the second half.
APF also created some attractive scoring opportunities but failed to utilize them. In the first half, Ganesh Lawati´s strike for APF went wide.
MMC´s Ganesh Khadka was adjudged the man-of-the-match.
APF Manager Dhanbir Chaudhary blamed their goalie for the defeat. "The opponents scored the first goal taking advantage of the goalkeeper´s mistake," Chaudhary said, while also pointing out lack of team work and mispasses as other setbacks for the team.
MMC coach Bal Gopal Maharjan commented that they got the result as expected. "However, we came under pressure after we squandered many scoring chances," Maharjan said.
On Friday, Sahara FC UK will take on Rupandehi-XI.
Financial assistance for Sahara
Sahara FC UK handed over cash worth Rs 431,311 for the construction of the academy building of Sahara Club, Pokhara.
The building is under construction. Sahara UK President Nabin Gurung handed over the cash to his Sahara Club counterpart Bikram Thakali. Sahara UK had contributed Rs 100,000 while the rest of the amount was raised from Nepali football lovers residing in England.
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