A Division District League champion Munal, which was playing at the Dasharath Stadium after 16 years, put up a defensive show and kept NPC at bay until the 64th minute of the match on Friday. However, Munal conceded three goals in the last 24 minutes. [break]
After four missed opportunities in the first half, NPC exerted pressure on Munal after the interval. NPC skipper Jumanu Rai opened the scoring in the 64th minute. Munal goalkeeper Min Basnet had no chance of stopping the ball as Rai headed home an acute cross from Parbat Pandey.
Bharat Shah doubled the advantage in the 87th minute. Munal goalie Basnet blocked a shot from newly recruited NPC player Ganesh Khadka but Shah scored on the rebound.
Robin Shrestha scored in the injury time to seal a 3-0 win for NPC. Munal glovesman Basnet, who had saved three attempts in one-on-one situations earlier, moved forward to stop Shrestha but the NPC defender on the overlap dodged him to score into an open net.
"We were not expecting to beat Police in this match. We had hoped to hold them to a draw. However, our midfield could not put up a good show in the second half. We stayed deep and were bound to come under pressure in such a situation," said Gambhir Rai, the coach of Munal Club. "The 3-0 result obviously frustrates us but we know Police is one of the best teams in the country," he added.
NPC coach Birat Krishna Shrestha said his team was not well-set since it was the first match of the tournament. "Munal was too defensive and our boys were in a hurry to score rather than keeping ball possession, penetrating and playing in width," said Shrestha.
He said his team still has problems in scoring. He also applauded Munal for a couple of counter-attacks and defensive show. "Munal put up a good show playing their first match at the Dasharath Stadium in 16 years. They could pull off surprises in the remaining matches of the tournament if they played total football rather than playing only defensive football," said Shrestha.
Following the win, NPC is level on three points with Machhindra in Group A of the tournament. Simrik Saraswati Youth Club and Munal are the other two teams in the group.
Saturday´s matches
Three Star Vs Deshbhakta @ 14:00 NST
Nepal Army Vs RCT @ 16:00 NST
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