KATHMANDU: Armed Police Force (APF) Club stunned star-studded New Road Team (NRT) 2-1 and Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club laboured to a 1-0 win over Western Region-XI in the Group 'D' matches of the British Gurkha Cup Football Tournament here at the Dasharath Stadium today.

Milan Rai and Dhanbir Chaudhary scored for

the departmental team while second half substitute Bijay Majhi pulled back one for NRT. The

victory margin would have been much wider had APF not muffed up half a dozen easy scoring chances. Milan Rai put APF ahead early in the 12th minute when a defensive misunderstanding between Sagar Thapa and Nabin Neupane let the player alone to shoot the ball past goalkeeper Surendra Shrestha.

APF wasted several chances to double their tally, notable in the 28th and 62nd minute. Top Bahadur Bista met a cross from Durga Lawat in the 28th and sent goalie Shrestha the wrong way but the ball rolled inches away from the target. And the departmental team was unlucky not to have doubled their scores when, in a goal-mouth melee, three of their players failed to convert. APF, however, added the second goal a minute later with defender Dhanbir headed home on a corner kick from Durga Lawat.

Substitute Bijay Majhi reduced the deficit, directing his header in the nets on a free kick from Ranjit Shrestha but NRT never looked like scoring another. Instead, APF came

close twice to scoring in the dying moments of the game. Skipper Jibesh Pandey shot wide from six yards in the 88th minute before the player was denied by goalie Surendra again in the injury time.

APF coach Maheswor Mulmi was not impressed the way his team performed despite the win. "We were lucky only

because their (NRT) star players failed to shine," said Mulmi rating NRT a good side. Mulmi's counterpart Diken Suwal blamed lack of preparation and injuries to their defeat. "Our team is yet to set as many of the players are either injured or away from team for the national duty," reasoned Suwal.

Earlier in the first match, 'A' Division outfit Sankata had a tough time seeing off the assembled and inexperienced Western Region team. Sankata got a chance early on to score when Ajay Poudel brought down Nirajan Malla inside the penalty area but Western Region goalkeeper Amrit Chaudhary blocked Sunil Subedi's spot kick.

Skipper Kailash Dangol put Sankata ahead with a superb goal from a 35-yard freekick. Western Region also had fair number of scoring chances but inexperience let them down. Ramesh Shahi had just Sankata goalie to beat in the 48th minute but the forward hesitated to take the shot himself and instead passed the ball to his teammate that was intercepted by a defender. Ashok Pun scored in the 62nd minute but his goal was ruled offside.

Western Region coach Yam Gurung blamed lack of coordination for their defeat. "I am not supposed to assess our opponent's game, but we surely did not play well," said Gurung adding that his team members hardly had time to know each other. Sankata coach Ujjwol Manandhar rued the missed opportunities. "We missed too many opportunities which added further pressure on our players," said the coach.