Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Church Boys United has advanced to the semifinals of the Aha-Rara Gold Cup after defeating Machhindra Club 3-1 at the Pokhara Stadium on Sunday.
This is the first campaign of Church Boys United, which was promoted to the ‘A’ Division last season, in the Aha Rara Gold Cup.
Ashish Chapagain scored two goals for Church Boys, while Ashish Chaudhary added a third in the win. Chapagain’s first goal came in the 23rd minute after Machhindra goalkeeper Bishal Shrestha failed to collect Anjan Bista’s header. He scored his second in the dying minutes of the first half, beating the Machhindra goalkeeper from close range. Chaudhary extended Church Boys’ lead to 3-0 in the 64th minute, before Saurabh Subba scored a consolation goal for Machhindra in the 89th minute.
Church Boys featured national team players Anjan Bista, Ananta Tamang, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Tej Tamang, and Arik Bista, all of whom were acquired for the club’s debut campaign in the ‘A’ Division league which is set to begin in March. Machhindra also fielded a strong side featuring Bishal Shrestha, Bimal Gharti Magar, Pujan Uparkoti an Devendra Tamang, among others.
Church Boys will face the winner of the match between Manang Marshyangdi and Bhutanese Youth Sports Club in the semifinals.
