KARACHI: A goal in each half took Pakistan’s national champions Wapda to a 2-0 win over Nepal Police in the AFC President’s Cup on Wednesday.
Pakistan internationals Arif Mehmood and Jadeed Khan were the goal-scorers for the visitors in the group C tie, being played at Nepal’s Dasarath Rangsaala Stadium.
Wapda took the lead in the 38th minute, when Nepal Police’s Suman Subedi fell to an offside trap set up by the visitors. Arif took control of the clear ball and slotted past Nepal Police goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa for his fifth goal of the tournament and the first in this edition.
In the second half, the hosts missed a chance to equalise when Yogesh Shrestha was unable to convert from a good cross.
Arif, who scored hat-trick against Bhutan in SAFF Championship 2009, had a chance to double the scored in the 60th minute off Mehmood Ali’s pass but his shot went wide of the goal.
It wasn’t until the last minute of normal time that Wapda sealed the win, when Arif put a ball through to Jadeed, who duly converted from close-range.
This was the third time the two teams were meeting in the event. The previous two ties ended in draws.
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