Nawayug Shrestha broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute of the added half hour after a goalless stalemate in the regulation time to give Army a winning start to the new season. [break]Shrestha took his time in the six-yard box to score the decider with a well-placed shot to secure a quarterfinal spot for his team.
Army will now face the winner of the match between Bauddha Football Club and Nepal Police Club for a place in the semifinals.
"Madhyapur was much stronger than what we had expected," Army coach Yogambar Suwal said during the post-match conference.
"Our team is not set properly as there is a mix of new and old players. But the players put in a great effort," Suwal said, adding, "Though we dominated the first half, we failed to utilize scoring chances."
Madhyapur, which has been promoted to A division this season, had included six new players. The team came under pressure in the first half, but the second half look fairly balanced. In the extra time, Madhyapur resorted to defensive strategy and again came under pressure. Madhyapur was reduced to 10 men in the last minute of added time after Bivek Pratap Panta was sent off for his second bookable offense.
"As it was our first match in top flight football, I had asked the boys to enjoy the match and put up a good show," said Upendra Man Singh, Madhyapur´s coach-cum-president.
"We need to learn more as we had only four or five training sessions. Our main target is to build a better team for the league," Singh said, adding, "All the team members gave their hundred percent on the field and I would like to thank all of them."
Earlier, Army had created about half-a-dozen scoring chances while Madhyapur could make only three attempts on goal, with two coming from free-kick.
Army goalie Bikash Malla made two attractive saves to deny free-kicks taken by Raj Kumar Ghising, a new signing from Three Star. In the 85th minute, Bed Kumar Shrestha´s strikef from close range sailed above the bar after taking a deflection off an Army defender.
Madhyapur goalie Bikesh Kutu, the club´s new signing from Saraswoti, made some valiant saves to deny Army from scoring in the regulation time. Kutu denied Deep Lama in a one-on-one position in the 74th minute with a diving save.
In the 90th minute, Kutu again made a diving save to deny Bikarna Shrestha´s shot from the edge. Scorer Shrestha wasted two chances -- one each in either half, firing them above the bar.
Nepal Police Club will take on Bauddha Football Club in the last pre-quarterfinal match on Friday.
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