In the inaugural match played at ANFA Technical Center, Dharan, the holder toiled hard to beat Purbanchal XI of the host 1-0.[break]
African recruit of MMC Adijola Jacob scored the all important goal 29th minute into the second half. Jacob took his time and unleashed a powerful 20-yard strike after he got Purbanchal defender´s deflection off a freekick taken by Sujal Shrestha to stun goalie.
MMC will now take on the winner among Nepal Police Club and the CFC Club of Bhutan in the semifinal to be played on Wednesday.
This is the second time that host team crashed out from the inaugural match of the tournament. In the last edition, too, host was defeated in its first match going down 1-0 to Morang Football Association. Similarly, the defeat also became second for the hosts at the hands of MMC in the current event. The host was defeated 2-1 by MMC in the quarterfinal of the sixth edition.
In the competitive match, both the teams squandered frequent scoring chances. MMC could have taken lead in the early fifth minute hadn´t striker Anil Gurung squandered a one-on-one chances with goalie Binay Shrestha. Gurung´s shot was denied by Shrestha and Ohadifu Ohiez´s close range strike in goalie´s rebound hit the woodwork.
Gurung again missed scoring chance six minute later for MMC and Ohiez fired wide in the 35th minute. In the 40th minute, Gurung´s header was brilliantly caught by custodian Shrestha. MMC missed as many scoring chances after the interval as well.
Host Purwanchal, studded with players from top flight clubs, also failed to utilize scoring chances in the 11th, 20th, 26th and 36th minutes of the first half. During stoppage time of first half, Deepak Rai missed a golden opportunity as he missed wide open net after goalie was beaten.
Shekhar Limbu of the host was declared the man-of-the-match.
Purwanchal coach Sagar Ghimire said that his side faced defeat after players missed scoring opportunity. "Despite creating scoring chances we got defeated due to poor finishing," Ghimire said, adding, "The opponents created single chance and utilized it."
MMC coach Hari Om Shrestha said that his team came under pressure after it failed to get early score. "The surface of the field is not even and some new faces in the team were also not set properly," Shrestha said, adding, "We have not trained properly, but we will come up with improved performance in the next match."
Mega Three Star Club will take on African United in Sunday´s match.
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