Machhindra advance into quarters

Source: ekantipur.com

KASKI, JAN 28 -

Machhindra Club booked their berth in the quarterfinal of the Eight Aaha Gold Cup with a 3-2 win over visitors Gurkha United on Wednesday. Machhindra will take on Army on Sunday. In a highly competitive match, the two teams fought tooth and nail.

The match was drawn until the 75th minute at two goals a piece. Diego Rahim Koji scored the decider on the 75th minute to take Machhindra into last eight. Koji diverted Karna Limbu's pass from the penalty box into the net.

Despite dominating the match right from the beginning, Machhindra scored the first at the end of the first half. Limbu gave Machhindra the lead on the 45th minute when he guided Bikash Rai's long pass from the right corner into the post easily.

The visitors came out attacking in the second half. They equalised on the first minute when Rahul Negi thread through a pass for Balbindra Singh to score. Gurkha United again took the lead on 52nd minute as Goswami's shot from the penalty box caressed the back of the net.

However, Koji fooled the opposing defence and the keeper to bring Machhindra back into the match. Despite the win, Machhindra's coach Narottam Shakya was unhappy with his team's performance. “There were many loopholes in our game. The boys missed a couple of golden opportunities,” said Shakya. He also attributed the loss to his players' unfamiliarity with the ground in Pokhara.

The opposing coach Samir Gurung conceded that his team had gone down to a better team.