Sports

10-man Three Star beat NRT in a thriller

10-man Three Star beat NRT in a thriller

By Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Skipper Surendra Tamang scored a spectacular goal in the extra time to guide 10-man Nabil Three Star Club to a 3-2 win over New Road Team (NRT) in the Nepatop Kheladi Cup, charity football tournament, here at the Dasharath Stadium on Thursday. NRT rallied from two goals down to extend the match into further 10 minutes but their fightback ended when Tamang scored a superb goal from 30 yards leaving goalkeeper Binod Dangol stranded. Earlier, Santosh Sahukhala and Anil Ojha gave Three Star two-goal lead in the first 20 minutes. Bal Gopal Sahaukhala and Rohit Chand led the NRT fightback in the latter half against the 10-men Three Star after Anil was sent off in first half injury time for his double bookable offences. Santosh gave Three Star the lead in the 13th minute, heading in from a rebound. An attempted clearance from NRT defender Biraj Maharjan rebounded off the cross bar for Santosh to easily head home. The Lalitpur-based club doubled their lead through Anil in the 20th minute. In fact, Anil was gifted the goal by NRT goalie Binod. Anil need just a tap in when Binod spilled a routine catch following a weak shot from Surendra. Playing with one man advantage after the break, NRT reduced the deficit 12 minutes into the second half. Bal Gopal scored a wonderful goal into the top of the roof following a right wing cross from Ranjit Shrestha. Three Star goalkeeper Sanjeev Shrestha denied Nabin Neupane the equaliser in 79th minute, blocking the NRT skipper’s 25-yard powerful strike. Three Star got yet another reprieve four minutes later. Sanjeev once again denied Nirajan Malla’s left-footed strike. Three Star, however, had no answer to Rohit Chand’s brilliance a minute later when he scored an unstopable goal from inside the box. But, Three Star skipper Surendra came up with a stunning winning goal in the fourth minute of the added time. Keeping in mind the fading light, the match was extended to just 10 minutes with the mutual understanding between the captains. Earlier, the match was delayed by an hour due to rain. Ranjit Shrestha of NRT won the man of the match award. Three Star will play for the championship on Saturday against the winners of Friday’s match between Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC). Nepal National and International Players Association and Nepal Sports Journalists Forum are jointly organising the tournament to raise funds for the treatment of former national volleyball player Dinesh Baniya, who is fighting for life after being diagnosed with failed kidneys. Baniya, the member of the Nepali squads that participated in the sixth and seventh SAF Games, needs kindey transplantation.