Report: England C 2-0 Nepal

England C played host to the Nepal national team at Aldershot Town’s EBB stadium on Monday afternoon, with a comfortable 2-0 victory for the non-League Lions.

On a rain-soaked affair in Hampshire, first-half goals from Nicke Kabamba and Callum Stead helped Paul Fairclough's team cruise to victory in this friendly against the Blue Tigers, with FA Chair Debbie Hewitt among an impressive crowd of over 5500 fans in attendance.

"Football has the incredible power of bringing communities together and today’s fixture is a perfect example of this," said the FA Chair.

"There has been a great deal of excitement and interest from the local Nepalese community in the lead up to today’s match, the first time that a fixture has taken place between our two countries at any level.

"I’d like to give a special thanks to Aldershot Town for hosting today’s match, as well as Hampshire FA and Army FA for their hospitality in welcoming Nepal FA as part of this friendship visit, promoting football for all. It has been fantastic to see the engagement with the large Nepalese community that live in the area, as well as the Gurkha Regiments based at the Aldershot Garrison."

It was a dominant start by England, as they took a seventh minute lead courtesy of smart header by Kabamba. A nice pattern of play by Johnny Goddard and Ollie Harfield on the left-hand side provided Kabamba with an easy chance to open the scoring and the Barnet striker made no mistake.

There was little sign of reprieve by England throughout the half, as they doubled their lead in the 13th minute. A corner wasn't dealt with effectively by the visitors, which gifted Stead with a simple finish as England took control of the fixture.

England continued to heap on the pressure, with attempts from Jack Payne and Goddard requiring strong saves from the Blue Tigers goalkeeper Limbu.

The hosts continued in the second half as they did the first, with an early chance being denied by Lama on the line, after a combination of Kabamba and Danny Collinge came close to making it three.

Nepal provided an almost instant response with their first chance in the game, as an enterprising run by Karki created the chance for Bista, who was only able to strike it straight at substitute goalkeeper Elliot Justham.

Yet more work on the wings provided Nepal with another chance later in the half when Dangi dug out a great cross for Karki, who could only find the woodwork with his header.

England C will be happy with their ability to bounce back after a tough 1-0 loss to Wales C in March. Whilst Nepal will now turn their attention to upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the U.A.E and Yemen.

England: 1 Nathan Ashmore (GK) (Boreham Wood), 2 Ben Chapman (Ebbsfleet United), 3 Ollie Harfield (Aldershot Town), 4 Danny Collinge (Barnet), 5 Dan Ellison (Chippenham Town), 6 Ollie Kensdale (Southend United), 7 Jack Payne (Boreham Wood), 8 Toby Edser (Ebbsfleet United), 9 Nicke Kabamba (Barnet), 10 Callum Stead (Barnet) 11 Johnny Goddard (Slough Town)

Substitutes: 13 Elliot Justham (Dagenham & Redbridge) for Ashmore 45’, 16 Tyler Frost (Aldershot Town) for Goddard 58’, 15 Scott (Aldershot Town) for Chapman 58’, 12 Jack Barnham (Aldershot Town) for Ellison 58’, 14 Zico Asare (Maidenhead United) for Stead 58’

Head coach: Paul Fairclough

Goals: Kabamba 7’, Stead 13’