Nepal Police Club head coach Birat Krishna Shrestha (right) admitted his side were out-played by the defending champions.

BISHKEK – Nepal Police Club captain Ramesh Budhathoki is determined to avenge last year’s AFC President’s Cup final defeat by Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi Dynamo in Friday’s semi-final meeting in Bishkek.

After losing 3-0 to the defending champions in the group stage in Pakistan in 2007, Dordoi claimed a 2-1 victory over Nepal Police Club - who were then known as Mahendra Police Club - in the final to claim a second successive AFC President’s Cup triumph.

But after suffering the defeats in Lahore, Budhathoki and his Nepal Police Club team-mates are determined to derail Dordoi Dynamo’s bid for a hat-trick of titles in front of their own fans at the Spartak Stadium in the Kyrgyzstan capital.

“We want to avenge our two defeats in Pakistan,” said Budhathoki. “If we play well and play to the level we know we can perform at and play to our tactics we can beat them.

“Our team will not play an individual game; we will play a team game and look to use our attacking strength which is our strong point. We will look to play a total game.”

Coach Birat Krishna Shrestha has brought the same team, which includes eight Nepal internationals, to Kyrgyzstan who suffered the final heartbreak 12 months ago.

But despite his captain’s confidence and the team’s obvious hopes of revenge, the coach played down the Nepal champions’ chances and admits his side will have to play a waiting game on Friday.

“Last time we played Dordoi we lost twice. Dynamo are a better side than us, there is no doubt they are individually, tactically and physically, especially physically, better than us,” said the Nepal Police Club coach.

“But it is a football game and they can make mistakes. During the 90 minutes we must look to capitalise on their mistakes and take our chances, then we can win.”

Turkmenistan League leaders Ashgabat face Tajikistan champions Regar-TadAZ, the inaugural President’s Cup champions, in Friday’s other semi-final and despite their history in the competition, the Nepal Police Club coach again played down his side’s chances and insisted they are underdogs to triumph in Sunday’s final.

Nepal Police Club secured their semi-final berth as the best placed runners-up in the group stage after finishing second in Group A behind Regar-TadAZ, who they shared a 2-2 draw with in the final game.

“I have not seen anything of the Turkmenistan team, but I have seen Regar and Dordoi and they have a similar playing style, both are equal,” he added.

“I can’t say a lot about the Turkmenistan team but I believe individually all three teams are better than Nepal.”

Nepal Police Club arrived earlier in the Kyrgyzstan capital than expected in order to acclimatise to the conditions.

“The weather is very hot and we are feeling dry, but there will be no problems playing the matches,” added the Nepal Police Club coach.