Nepal Police Club advanced to the semi-finals of the Mechinagar Gold Cup football tournament with a 3-0 drubbing of Paro FC of Bhutan on Monday.

Rabi Paswan scored a brace after skipper Bharat Shah had earlier provided NPC the lead. The departmental team will take on Sankata Club on Wednesday for a place in the final.

Shah came close to scoring early in the 18th minute only for a spectacular save from Paro FC goalkeeper Sherob Gyalchen keeping the score goalless.

NPC’s Nir Kumar Rai then shot whiskers away from target in the 30th minute before Ashish Gurung’s headed attempt rebounded off the woodwork. Just as the match was heading for a break, Shah gave NPC the lead in the 44th minute. Shah chest-controlled a pass from Man Bahadur Pariyar to slam home the goal.

As Paro FC went forward in search for an equalizer it left their backline vulnerable allowing Paswan to score two quick goals and kill off the match. Paswan capitalised on a pass from Suman Lama to make it 2-0 in the 56th minute before adding another goal just two minutes later. Para FC also had a fair number of scoring chances but they were twice denied by NPC goalkeeper Satrudhan Chaudhary, notably in the 33rd and 46th minute. Chaudhary first denied Karan Rai in the 33rd and then Diwan Subba in the 46th minute.

NPC coach Ananta Thapa said his team played under pressure early in the first half after several chances went begging. “But once we scored the first goal, it opened up the floodgates for us. We were dull in the first half partly because we took a cautious approach as we were playing against a team we have never faced before,” said the NPC coach.

Paro FC coach Pushpa Lal said his team could not perform to their potential due to the absence of six regular players. The coach, however, did not elaborate on the reasons for the players’ absence.

“We are used to playing on mats and the clay surface here posed a real challenge for our players,” said Pushpa Lal. Top-tier outfits Three Star will take on Mai Valley  Club of Ilam in the last quarter-final match on  Tuesday.