Kathmandu, April 27

Nepal Police Club defeated FC Khumaltar 3-1, while Friends Club salvaged a 1-1 draw with APF Football Club in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League here today.

Three foreign recruits of the two clubs netted four goals at the Dasharath Stadium as NPC recorded their third victory in 13 matches. Ahmad Hijazi scored a brace and Moses Gyabaah Twum netted one for the NPC, while Pierre Jean Marie Messouke Etiegnie Oloumou replied for Khumaltar.

Hijazi opened the scoring for NPC in the 27th minute when he found the back of the nets in rebound after Khumaltar goalkeeper Dev Limbu parried Moses Gyabaah Twum's header on a corner from Ravi Paswan.

Khumaltar levelled the scores nine minutes into the second half after Oloumou collected a loose ball half-cleared by NPC defense line and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from inside the box.

Twum restored NPC's lead in the 83rd minute after he controlled a through pass from Serge Dicka and thwarted the challenge from two Khumaltar defenders before firing past diving goalkeeper Limbu. Hijazi earned a penalty for NPC in the injury time after Khumaltar custodian Limbu brought him down inside the box and he did not mistake from the spot.

Despite the win, NPC remained at the bottom of the 14-team table with 12 points at the end of the first leg, while Khumaltar are at the 12th position after being tied on 13 points with 11th placed New Road Team and 13th placed Himalayan Sherpa Club. NRT and Sherpa have played one match less than Khumaltar.

NPC head coach Chetan Ghimire lauded his team's fight back. 'We converted a chance in the first half but Khumaltar dominated the show after the break. We were a bit slow in the second half but the boys did well in gaining the momentum back and record an important victory,' said the former NPC player.

Khumaltar FC have been without a coach for a couple of matches and team manager Anjan Rana Chhetri blamed poor refereeing for the loss.

'The decision from referee was not fair as we were denied an early penalty,' said Chhetri.

'The outcome of the match could have been different had we won the spot kick,' he added.

Chhetri said coach Bishnu Gurung would return in the team after the completion of AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers.

At the ANFA Complex grounds, APF and Friends played a 1-1 draw. APF took the lead in the 27th minute through Pradeep Lama's goal.

Lama found the back of the nets with a shot from the edge of the box following a pass from his skipper Nabin Lama. Rafiq Aminu levelled the scores for Friends in the 52nd minute.

At the end of the first leg, APF accumulated 18 points from five wins and three draws to stay at the sixth position, while Friends are ninth on 15 points following their third stalemate.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.