Defender Suman Subedi and winger Bhola Silwal scored in either half for the injury plagued Police team against Bauddha which is at the bottom of the league table without a single point after six matches. [break]
APF meanwhile, netted all four goals in the first half. Shyam Nepali, Santosh Shrestha, Top Bahadur Bista and Rajendra Rawal were all on target for the departmental team that achieved its third win.
Mahendra Bansbari Club goalie Ajeet Prajapati concedes goal. (Photo: Bijay Rai)
The win lifted Police out of the relegation zone to 9th place with seven points. Meanwhile, APF with three wins leapfrogged six spots up to fifth. APF has nine points. Bansbari is in 15th place, second from the bottom with one point.
"We needed three points and we got it," Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha said during the post match conference tagging the performance of his side as the worst ever in the league. "The boy´s played with only 15 percent of their potential. We have lot of injuries and most of the players are playing with bandages."
Defender Subedi, left unmarked in the six-yard box, gave 20th minute lead to Police when he tapped in a rebound off custodian Ranjit Gurung who was unable to hold Yogesh Shrestha´s powerful shot from the right.
Rajendra Rawal (White) from APF and Suraj Shrestha from Mahendra Bansbari Club vie for ball. (Photo: Bijay Rai)
Winger Silwal sealed the victory in the last minute of match in counter attack. Silwal fired a powerful shot to beat custodian Gurung in one-on-one situation in skipper Jumanu Rai´s cross.
Earlier, Parbat Pandey´s 33rd minute free kick for Police was denied by diving goalie Gurung. He again denied skipper Rai´s close range shot in the 79th minute. Bauddha was able to mount a single attractive move in the 43rd but its African recruit Steven Veron Bikamata´s shot from the area was denied by diving custodian Ritesh Thapa.
Bauddha coach Kiran Shrestha opined that his side was defeated despite putting up good performance. "The luck has not favored us despite good show. We are unlucky not to score," said Bauddha coach. "We can beat any team with such performance and as we have nine more matches I am hopeful of avoiding relegation."
Earlier in the one sided match, APF opened scoring in the 10th minute through Shyam Nepal who tapped in easily after collecting the ball that had rebounded off the upright. Santosh Shrestha doubled the advantage in the 31st minute after unleashing a powerful strike from the area.
Top Bahadur Bista scored into an open goal to make it 3-0 after goalie Ajeet Prajapati fumbled Santosh Shrestha´s shot, and Rajendra Rawal scored another in the stoppage time of the first half.
APF coach Janak Singh Tharu said that relegation fear was all over for his team. "The players took the match lightly in the second half after getting four goals in the first half," Tharu said.
Bansbari coach Hari Om Shrestha said none players of his side played with zeal. "The defense line up could not mark the opponents well and pressure increases after continuous defeats."
League football Box 50th league win for coach Shrestha
Wednesday´s 2-0 victory of Police over Bauddha FC was the 50th win for Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League since taking over the club in 2063 BS from Yogamber Suwal. On his way to 50th victory of Martyrs Memorial League, Shrestha guided his team to titles of all three Martyrs Memorial League held since than and a National League last year.
In 2063 BS league police won 20 matches, drew five and lost one. Domestic football was stalled for two years and resumed in 2066 BS. During that season, Police won 14 and drew eight matches. In 67/68 BS League Police won 14, drew two matches and lost its last match against MMC 1-0. In the ongoing league, Police has won two out of six matches, drawn one and lost three matches.
Tuesday´s matches
Saraswati Vs Friends @ 12:30 NST
Machhindra Vs Army @ 14:30 NST
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