Nepal Police Club has reached the semifinals of the ongoing 24th Aaha-Rara Pokhara Gold Cup football tournament in Pokhara by defeating the visiting team, Brigade Boys Club UK, 2-0.
At Pokhara Stadium on Saturday, the most decorated team, Police, sent the British team home. In the 28th minute of the match, Police’s Vivek Pandey capitalized on a corner kick to score the first goal.
His strike, after deflecting off Brigade Boys’ player Ryan Kunwar, hit the second bar and ended up in the net. In the 40th minute, captain Ram Waji doubled the lead by scoring another goal. Vivek’s corner found an unmarked Ram, who scored with a low header from close range.
Earlier, in the 34th minute, Ram’s free header from Vivek’s corner was saved by BBC’s player. However, on the second attempt, Ram left no chance for the opposition goalkeeper, Top Bahadur Rana.
From the beginning, Police had put BBC under pressure. In the 25th minute, Ujjwal Rai’s free-kick for Police was weak. In the 65th minute, Vivek Pandey’s cross found Ashish Rai inside the box, but his shot went wide, missing the opportunity to extend the lead.
For BBC UK, in the 77th minute, a free kick by Shaktim Limbu was headed by Bishal Tamang from inside the box, but Police goalkeeper Shatrudhan Chaudhary cleared it.
By maintaining their first-half lead until the final whistle, Police secured their victory.
