ANFA: All Nepal Football Association

2021-12-24

APF, NRT share points after entertaining 3-3 draw

APF Football Club and New Road Team (NRT) played an entertaining 3-3 draw in the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial 'A' Division League 2021/22 on Friday.

APF came from 3-1 down to draw the match at the Dasharath Stadium. NRT scored the first goal through Darshan Gurung in the 32nd minute. Aashish Lama levelled the game five minutes later to score his fourth goal of the tournament. Darshan scored his second three minutes after the restart and NRT maintained a two goal cushion in the 61st through Messouke Oloumou.

But Dipesh Dhimal headed in APF's second in the 65th and Nabin Lama levelled the game in the 69th.

NRT's coach Raju Kaji Shakya said his players could not hold the game after taking the 3-1 lead. "My defenders were not in their position when they got their second and poor man marking allowed them to level the score. We seemed unbalanced and they immediately got back into the game," said Shakya.

APF's Kumar Thapa said they should have won the game but had to be satisfied with a comeback draw. He also blamed the referees for poor decision taking. "I think the quality of referees should be upgraded. We are not happy with referees of this caliber. We work so hard but poor decision by referees let our hard work down," said Thapa.

Nepal Police Club will play Friends Club in the second match of the day.

2021-12-21

National team members felicitated, awarded for historical SAFF campaign

Players and officials of the national football team, which finished second in the SAFF Championship, have been felicitated and awarded by the government on Tuesday.

The players and officials received the prize money amid a special programme organized at PM's residence in Baluwatar today.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba distributed the prize money to the players and coaching staffs. Each player received Rs 500,000 while the head coach, coach and goalkeeping coach received Rs 300,000 each. Other members of the national team were also felicitated during the programme.

Nepal had reached the final of the regional tournament, held in Maldives from October 1-16, for the first half time losing out to India.

ANFA President Karma Tsering Sherpa handed out token of love to the PM and Minister for Sports Maheshwor Gahatraj. ANFA Senior Vice President Pankaj Nembang, Vice President Upendra Man Singh, General Secretary Indraman Tuladhar, Treasurer Rabindra Joshi, Ex-Co member Purna Man Chitrakar were also present in the ceremony.

2021-12-20

Aashish on the double as APF claim first win

Aashish Lama scored twice as APF Football Club registered their first win of the league with a 3-1 victory over Friends Club in the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial 'A' Division League 2021/22 on Monday.

Bikey Tamang gave the lead to APF in the 30th minute and Aashish doubled the team's advantage two minutes later. After a 2-0 halftime lead, APF scored third through Aashish in the 56th minute before Prezen Tamang pulled back for Friends from the penalty spot in the 69th.

It was APF's first win of the season which saw them move up to 11th in the table. Friends, meanwhile, are bottom of the table with two points from five matches.

APF's coach Kumar Thapa said it was an entertaining encounter between the teams battling to move out of relegation zone. "My players are showing signs of improvement and I will be happy to take four points from five matches. Aashish Lama should have had a hat-trick today and we played well," said Thapa.

Friends Mrigendra Mishra said his team was under pressure to win after falling in to the bottom zone but collapsed after the first 25 minutes. "We were good in the first 25 minutes and looked like my players forgot how to play after that. We also lacked a midfielder who can rotate the ball. But we can take solace as we have many matches still to play," said Mishra.

The fifth round of matches concluded on Sunday with Manang Marsyangdi Club (MMC) with a two point advantage over Machhindra Football Club (MFC). The next round will begin from December 24 when APF will play New Road Team (NRT) in the first match at 1 pm. The second match will be between Nepal Police Club and Friends Club at 4:45 pm.

2021-12-19

Himalayan Sherpa up to 8th after 3-1 victory over Brigade Boys

Himalayan Sherpa Club (HSC) pulled themselves out of the bottom two after a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Brigade Boys Club (BBC) in the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial 'A' Division League 2021/22 on Sunday.

HSC's foreign recruit Mutumba Pistone gave the lead in the fourth minute through a header. BBC levelled the game through Bhuwan Basnet in the 53rd minute but errors by their goalkeeper saw HSC win the game by a margin of two goals.

BBC's goalkeeper Anjal Shrestha, deputed in place of injured Purna Chemjong, rushed off his line in his failed attempt to clear the ball in each of HSC's two goals. Suresh Kumal scored in the 74th minute before Manish Thapa wrapped the victory in the fourth minute of added time.

HSC moved ahead of BBC in the points table and are currently eighth in the table.

HSC's coach Yugal Kishor Rai said they had changed their attacking strategy and won today's game. "We are still looking at ways to hold on to our lead as they got back in the second half. But we scored further two goals and held our grip into the match. We are happy with the win but will not get carried away," he said.

BBC's Sanoj Shrestha said the errors by their goalkeeper proved costly in today's match. "He lacked match experience and made the mistake by leaving his line to clear the ball. He should have stayed put on his line but it happens when you lack experience in the top flight," he said.

Friends Club, currently 13th, will play bottom placed APF Football Club at Dasharath Stadium on Monday to conclude the fifth round. The match will be played at 1 pm.