LAHORE – National champions WAPDA will collide with Nepal Police Club at Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, while Taiwan Power Company will take on Balkan at Halchowk Stadium as the 7th AFC President’s Cup commences today. Both matches will start at 3.30 PM. WAPDA’s next matches will be against Taiwan Power Company on April 22 and Balkan on April 24, at Halchowk Stadium. WAPDA will rue the absence of Khuda Bakhsh, who is famous in domestic soccer as super-sub.
WAPDA coach Khalid Butt said: “My target was to win but now it seems a little difficult. I had a very balanced side, but losing a key substitute is devastating.”
Meanwhile, Turkmenistan League Champion FC Balkan coach Alexander Klimenko has vowed to win all the three Group C games. “The players are determined to cross the first stage and the team is injury free,” he said. “We don’t have much information about our rivals but they are all champions of their respective countries. We will aim to win all the games in order to seal our place in the finals,” he said.
Squads:
WAPDA
Goal keepers (4): Abdul Aziz (HESCO), Muzammil Hussain (LESCO), Rao Yamin (MEPCO), Basit Ghafoor (NTDC); Defenders (8): Muhammad Ahmed (LESCO), Akram Masih (GEPCO), Muhammad Asif (FESCO), Naveed Akram (MEPCO), Muzaffar Ali (NTDC), Rana Fakhar Hayat (LESCO), Manzoor Ahmed(NTDC), Muhammad Shahid (MEPCO); Midfielders (7): Mehmood Ali (QESCO), Syed Arif Hussain (MEPCO), Zulfiqar Ali Shah (HESCO), Zain Ullah (NTDC), Muhammad Tauseef (LESCO), Shahid Mehmood (GEPCO), Ayaz Baloch (HESCO); Strikers (8): Imran Niazi (FESCO), Qamar Zaman(NTDC), Arif Mehmood (MEPCO), Khuda Bakhsh (HESCO), Jadeed Khan (LESCO), Muhammad Afzal (FESCO), Zeeshan Javed (GEPCO), Ghulam Abbas (FESCO)
Nepal Police FC: Goal keepers: Ritesh Thapa, Mukunda Thapa Magar; Defenders: Rakesh Shrestha, Lil Bahadur Rai, Dipendra Paudel,Ravi Dev Subedi, Rabin Shrestha, Dipak Paudel, Suman Subedi; Mid Fielders: Parbat Pandey, Ramesh Kumar Rai, Kunjan Shrestha
Anant Raj Thapa, Arjun Rijal, Bhola Nath Silwal; Chetan Ghimire, Roshan Karki
Strikers: Ramesh Budhathoki, Ju Manu Rai, Arjun Rijal, Nuckard Debunny
Group C FIXTUREs: (WAPDA, Nepal Police Club, Taiwan Power Company, Balkan, all the six matches will be played at Kathmandu, Nepal at 3.30 PM)
20 April: Nepal Police Club v WAPDA (Dasarath Rangasala Stadium),
Taiwan Power Company v Balkan (Halchowk Stadium)
22 April: WAPDA v Taiwan Power Company (Halchowk Stadium)
Balkan v Nepal Police Club (Dasarath Rangasala Stadium)
24 April: Nepal Police Club v Taiwan Power Company (Dasarath Rangasala Stadium), Balkan v WAPDA (Halchowk Stadium).
