AFP Football Club fought back twice to salvage a 3-3 draw against New Road Team in the Martyrs Memorial 'A' Division League while Nepal Police Club shared spoils with bottom-placed Friends Club playing a 0-0 draw.

The entertaining game saw midfielder Darshan Gurung struck twice at either half for NRT before Messouke Oloumou added the third goal. Lama duo Ashish and Dipesh netted for APF and Dipesh Dhimal ensured that they walked away with a point.

APF, unbeaten for the third match in a row, came level with Himalayan Sherpa Club and Brigade Boys Club with five points at ninth place while NRT climbed up one spot to sixth with seven points at the start of the sixth round of the play.

Police, winless in the last four matches, climbed two spots up to joint seventh with six points along with Three Star Club. The only side yet to taste victory, Friends, are at rock bottom with three points with as many draws.

NRT took the driving seat in the 32nd minute through Gurung who made a powerful header to convert Cameroonian midfielder Oloumou's cross. But NRT's lead could not last longer as former national captain Raju Kaji Shakya's side conceded the equaliser five minutes later.

Forward Ashish restored parity after he was allowed a free header to turn in Pradip Lama's cross from a close range. Ashish, the highest scorer of the last league with nine goals, also joined Satdobato Youth Club's Ajayi Martins on top of the highest scorer list with his fourth goal of the campaign.

NRT midfielder Gurung restored their lead three minutes into the second half with a brilliant finish after chest controlling Ranjan Bista's pass inside the area before firing a low ball at the far post beyond the reach of Japanese goalie Yuya Kuriyama.

NRT thought that they were close to three points as Cameroonian Oloumou made it 3-1 in the 61st when he found a through pass from Ashok Thapa and applied a scorcher in one-on-one with goalie Kuriyama sending the ball at the back of net despite deflection on the shot-stopper.

APF defender Dhimal reduced the deficit with a free header two minutes later to turn in Nabin's freekick. Nabin reestablished parity in the 69th with the third goal tapping in a cut back pass by Ashish to rescue a point for the departmental side.

After sharing the points each, coaches of both teams — APF's Kumar Thapa and NRT's Shakya — expressed dissatisfaction over referee Biswas Karki's decision. "It was unfortunate to share points despite leading 3-1 at the moment," said NRT's veteran coach Shakya. "The boys became overexcited and did not try to hold the opponents in a must-win game. The defenders were not in the proper position while conceding the second and third goals."

He also said that the match referee also made mistakes and tried to balance the game rather than officiating it fairly as per the rule.

APF's Kumar Thapa said he was not satisfied with the performance despite overcoming a two-goal deficit. "We should have been awarded penalty twice," said Thapa. "We have made such a big investment in football but match referees lack quality to justify the investment. Every team has been suffering because of referee decisions. ANFA has been experimenting with new and inexperienced referees."

In the late fixture, Police came closer to scoring at the stroke of halftime before winger Ravi Shankar Paswan's semi-volley in Man Bahadur Pariyar's pass rattled the bar. In the second half, Friends' Trinidadian forward Jamoul Francois' strike was punched to safety by goalie Satrughan Chaudhary.

Deep into the second half, Friends custodian Dev Limbu blocked substitute Bhola Silwal's header and the Kupandole-based team created their best chance after they cleared the ball from the area. Forward Francois chased the ball with only goalie Chaudhary on his way, but the shot-stopper rushed out of the area and headed to clear the danger away.

Friends coach Mrigendra Mishra said they need to work hard to avoid relegation. "We should have won the match. We dominated the early moments and we should have been awarded a penalty. The referees have turned the tournament into an experimenting lab," he said.