Kuching: Nepal captain Biraj Maharjan believes his side have improved as the Nepalese beat Brunei Darussalam 3-0 on Wednesday and booked their place in the semi-finals of the AFC Solidarity Cup Malaysia 2016 as Group A winners.
After a scoreless draw with Timor-Leste in their opening game, a goal in each half from Nawayug Shrestha and Bharat Khawas before a late penalty from Bimal Gharti gave coach Koji Gyotoku’s side their first win of the tournament, moving the Nepalese on to four points from two matches.
“The game against Brunei was great,” said defender Maharjan (pictured). “All the players played better in this match than in the first game. We’ve improved a lot.
“The first game was difficult because we were not ready and we did not play very well. The weather in the second match was also much better. We managed to raise our game. I sort of expected this win but never this many goals.”
Nepal will meet either Laos or Mongolia, with the two teams set to battle it out on Wednesday to determine who advances to the last four of the competition.
“Laos and Mongolia Macau are good teams and we’ll try our best to beat them,” said Maharjan.
“We will not take the game easily and we will train harder before we take on our next opponents. We aim to reach the final and win this tournament.”
