KATHMANDU, AUGUST 8

Machhindra Football Club defeated Paro Football Club 3-2 in the first preliminary round match of the AFC Cup here at the Dasharath Stadium today.

Bimal Gharti Magar, Ayush Ghalan and Afeez Olawale Oladipo scored for Machhindra, while Evans Asante replied for Paro, who were gifted with an own goal from Machhindra goalkeeper and skipper Bishal Shrestha. Machhindra will now travel to India to play against Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake City Stadium in Kolkata on August 16.

Paro opened the scoring in the eighth minute, thanks to an own goal from Machhindra goalkeeper Bishal Shrestha, who put the ball into his own net in an attempt to stop a shot from Kazuo Homma on a cross from Yeshi Dorji. After spilling in the first attempt, Shrestha accidentally punched the ball into his own nets while trying to collect it under pressure from Paro players.

Machhindra levelled the scores four minutes later. Bimal Gharti Magar scored the equaliser with a glancing header following a cross from Arik Bista. Gharti Magar was the provider in the 15th minute when he set the ball for Ghalan, who buried the ball into the nets with a left-footed volley to make it 2-1 for Machhindra.

Gharti Magar was agonisingly close in the 27th minute with the ball going inches wide off the post. Afeez Olawale Oladipo headed home in the 39th minute to extend the lead for Machhindra on a cross from Andres Tchounke, who was fed by Ghalan with a perfect pass. Evans Asante cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 71st minute with a clever shot from inside the box.

Machhindra survived a late onslaught from Paro and they were able to get past the first preliminary round match for the first time in their second attempt. Machhindra, who lost to Sri Lankan league champions in their first appearance in the AFC Cup last season, got the opportunity to play again this season despite finishing as runners-up in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League. Champions Church Boys United - who won the A division league in their debut season - did not have the AFC Club License required to qualify for the AFC Cup.

Playing in front of the 4,250 spectators, Machhindra custodian Shrestha denied Yeshi Dorji in the 57th minute. Paro FC continued to press for an equaliser in the last quarter of the match but they could not find the back of the nets despite coming close on a couple of occasions. Shrestha rescued his side in the 89th minute with a brilliant save, punching out a powerful strike from Kazuo Homma following a cross from Asante.

Gharti Magar should have ended the match with a brace but he muffed up a sitter failing to score in an open net following a pass from Aashish Chaudhary in the injury time. Gharti Magar was later adjudged the player of the match.

Machhindra head coach Kishor KC was happy with the result but was not satisfied with the overall performance of the team. 'I am happy for the win but I am a bit not satisfied with the team's performance,' KC said. 'We should have won the match with at least a two-three goal margin,' he added. 'The boys played as per the team plan for 70 minutes. But the team was out of focus after and the opponents capitalised on that,' he said.

Asked about the next match against Mohun Bagan, KC said he would study the opponents and prepare plans accordingly. 'I will collect information about Mohun Bagan and read about them first. We have a week to prepare for the next match,' KC said. 'There are certain areas to improve and we will fix them before going into the next match.'

Player of the match Gharti Magar accepted the team could not keep the momentum going in the second half. 'We followed the instructions from the coach and played according to the plan. But we were not up to the mark in the second half,' he said. 'All the players put in their hard efforts. And we are happy to get away with a win from the first match.'

Asked about the tough competition in the front line, Gharti Magar said the players were boosted up with the arrival of new players. 'It's very hard to keep a place in the team as there are a lot of quality players. And all the team members are boosted up because of the new players in the team,' added Gharti Magar, who will be up against his former club in the next match. 'I spent a season with Mohun Bagan in the past and I am excited to play against them now.'

Paro FC head coach Puspa Lal Sharma lauded his players for spirited performance in the match. 'My boys gave their 100 per cent in the match despite playing on a hard surface. All the grounds in Bhutan are artificial turfs and it was tough for my team to play on natural ground,' said Sharma.

'Most of the players in the team are young and they were impatient after conceding a couple of goals. We tried to come back strongly in the last quarter but just fell short.'

Asked about the brilliant save from Machhindra goalkeeper Shrestha in the dying moments of the match, Sharma said the luck was not on their part. 'Sometimes it's the quality of the goalkeeper and sometimes it's luck,' he said. 'Anyways, we will sit together and assess our performance for our upcoming matches back home.'

A version of this article appears in the print on August 9, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.