KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 11

Friends Club registered their first victory to move out of relegation zone for the first time, while Tribhuvan Army Football Club salvaged a 1-1 draw with Jawalakhel Youth Club in the Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League here at the Dasharath Stadium today.

Friends defeated fellow relegation-threatened side Brigade Boys Club 5-2. Sushil Shah and Anthony Francois netted a brace each and Shyam Babu Kyapchhaki scored one for Friends, while Junior Wamba and Anil Gurung scored for BBC. In another match, Tribhuvan Army FC's Suman Aryal levelled the scores in the seventh minute of the injury time after Onguna Junior had put JYC ahead. After 10 matches, Friends moved to 12th position with six points in the 14- team table, while BBC, who also have six points, dropped to relegation zone.

Chyasal Youth Club are at the bottom with five points. Likewise, JYC remained at the ninth place with nine points, while Army maintained their third position with 18 points.

In the first match, Friends took the lead in the 14th minute after Sushil Shah converted a free kick from 30 yards out into a sensational goal. BBC levelled the scores through Junior Wamba's goal in the 25th minute, also from a set piece after Ashim Bhusal brought down Bhuwan Basnet outside the box.

Friends went ahead again in the 28th minute when Shyam Babu Kyapchhaki found the back of the nets on a pass from Bikash Thapa in counter attack. Anthony Francois extended Friends' lead in the second minute of the first half injury time with a header following a free kick from Nisen Subba. Francois made it 4-1 in the 76th minute with his second goal of the match when he found the back of the nets following a pass from Prizen Tamang.

Two minute later Sushil Shah scored his second individual goal to put the issue beyond doubt, while former national team striker Anil Gurung reduced the deficit for BBC in the 86th minute from the spot after Prezen Tamang brought down Rudy Jonathan Njeutcheu Mbakop inside the danger zone.

In another match, JYC were moments away from walking away with full three points after Onguna Junior put them ahead in the 53rd minute. Junior beat past Army goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu in one-on-one situation and slammed home from close range after collecting a back pass from Rup Bahadur Lama.

At a time when the match was heading towards the end, Suman Aryal produced the moment of brilliance in the seventh minute of the injury time when he scored the equaliser on a pass from Jagajeet Shrestha.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 12, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.