Himal Press 
POKHARA: Machhindra Football Club has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Aaha-Rara Pokhara Gold Cup Football Tournament, defeating Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club 2–0 at the Pokhara Stadium on Thursday.
Machhindra scored both goals in the second half after the first half ended in a goalless stalemate. Substitute Aditya Shakya opened the scoring for Machhindra in the 74th minute of the match. Aditya scored from the D box capitalizing on a beautiful pass from Ayush Ghalan.
The former league champion doubled the lead in the 81st minute when its foreign recruit, Stephen Kamaha, headed in Devendra Tamang’s freekick. Although Nepal APF Club created several scoring opportunities during the match, it failed to convert them into goals.
Nepal APF Club’s Coach Jeevesh Pandey expressed dissatisfaction with the result. “Our inability to capitalize on opportunities cost us the place in the quarterfinal,” he added.
The winning coach, Santosh Neupane, expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance, stating that the players executed the game plan as per the strategy.
The tournament features 12 teams including three foreign clubs.
