Rayamajhi gave an early fourth minute lead to WMMC, participating in the tournament for the first time, and added two more inside the first 13 minutes of the second half to send the visitors crashing out from their very first match. [break]Rayamajhi, who was later adjudged man of the match, also became the first player to score a hat-trick in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
WMMC will now face defending champions Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) of Kathmandu in the quarterfinal on Monday.
Rayamajhi scored in Rubin Shrestha´s pass early in the first half to give his side a shock lead against the visitors, who were competing in the tournament for the second time. Shrestha collected the ball and passed it to Rayamajhi after the Namchi defenders failed to clear a free-kick taken by Shrestha.
Rayamajhi doubled the advantage two minutes after the interval and completed his hat-trick 11 minutes later when he met Siddhi Shrestha´s pass. Namchi pulled one back in the eighth minute of the second half but it was not sufficient to save them from defeat.
WMMC piled immense pressure on Namchi from the very beginning and created as many as half-a-dozen scoring chances. Rayamajhi squandered a scoring opportunity when he was one-on-one with the Namchi goalie. Shrestha missed four scoring opportunities in the first half. WMMC missed some scoring opportunities in the second half as well. Tirtha Lama´s powerful strike during the dying moments hit the woodwork.
In contrast, the visitors could make only a few attempts on goal. Bikash Thapa´s shot in the first half went inches wide from the post, and in early second half too they missed one chance.
However, WMMC coach Raju Pulami was not satisfied with his side´s victory. "We couldn´t put up a good show as we are participating in the event for the very first time but we will come up with an improved performance in the next match," Pulami said. Pulami´s counterpart Allen Bhutia said the light ball and the absence of two Nigerian players in his squad cost them dearly. "We are used to playing with comparatively heavy ball in India and two of our players (Nigerians) could not arrive due to visa problem."
On Friday, Sahara Club of Pokhara will take on Armed Police Force (APF), the departmental top flight team from Kathmandu.
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