Nepal Police Club (NPC) fought back from a goal down to beat Sankata Club 2-1 and secure a quarter-final berth in the Pokhara Cup football tournament on Saturday.

Avishek Rijal cancelled Sankata’s early lead before Rabi Paswan netted in the second half to stun the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League runners-up Sankata. Both the teams started with offensive approach and Nirajan Khadka came closer to scoring for Sankata in the fifth minute when his header sailed inches above the bar.

Cameroonian forward Maxwell gave Sankata the lead in the 11th minute, converting a Roshan Pahari pass. In the 19th minute winger Laxman Ruchal’s left flank strike at the near post went off target. The Khaptad Gold Cup champions NPC bounced back in the 31st minute through Rijal goal. The forward fired at the far post beyond the reach of goalkeeper Raja Babu Thapa after he was squared by Nir Kumar Rai who brilliantly seized the ball from opponent’s defender.

Paswan made it 2-1 for NPC nine minutes into restart capitalising on a misunderstanding between opponent’s defender and custodian. The forward intercepted defender Tampi Ernest backpass to goalie Thapa before placing it at the back of the net. After taking the lead, NPC tightened their defence and kept Sankata at bay. NPC though survived a nervy moment in the stoppage time when their custodian Satrughan Chaudhary had to punch out Laxman Ruchal’s strike to safety.

NPC coach Ananta Thapa lauded that the opponents game despite his team ending on the winning side. “We could not play to our potential due to congested knockout tournaments around the country. But I hope the boys will perform better after they get enough rest before the next fixture.”

Sankata coach Salyan Khadgi blamed the defeat to their porous defence. “We created attractive moves but failed to capitalise on them,” added Khadgi. Three Star Club will take on Nepal APF Club on Sunday.