Lalitpur, April 11
Afeez Olawale Oladipo scored five goals alone as Machhindra Football Club thrashed FC Khumaltar 7-3, while Tribhuvan Army Football Club defeated Jawalakhel Youth Club 3-1 in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League today.
In a 10-goal thriller at the Chyasal Stadium, two-time defending champions Machhindra took a 3-0 lead in the first half and added four more after the break, while Khumaltar hit back with three goals.
Bimal Gharti Magar and Bijay Bhujel added one each for Machhindra, while Pierre Jean Marie Messouke Etiegnie Oloumou scored a brace and Stephane Samir DB Binong netted one for Khumaltar.
Oladipo became the first footballer to score a hat-trick in the ongoing league. He opened the scoring in the 24th minute after he controlled the ball supplied by Suraj BK and beat past defender Sanwil D Costa at the edge of the box before making a fine finish from close range.
Oladipo doubled the tally five minutes following a pass from Chencho Gyeltshen. Gharti Magar made it 3-0 in the first half injury time in rebound after Khumaltar goalkeeper Dev Limbu blocked Chencho Gyeltshen's strike.
Oladipo completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute. Khumaltar defender Padam Bhattarai handled the ball inside the box to stop a goal-bound attempt from Bimal Gharti Magar and the African recruit converted the resulting penalty.
Oloumou reduced the deficitto 4-1 five minutes later following a pass from Binong but Oladipo restored Machhindra's four-goal cushion a minute later when he shot over the head of advancing goalkeeper Dev Limbu.
Oladipo made it 6-1 with his fifth goal of the match in the 67th minute.
He headed home a long pass from Andres Nia Tchounkeu. The top flight new entrants, Khumaltar earned a spot kick in the 76th minute and Binong converted the penalty, while Oloumou netted his second goal of the match in the 81st minute to make it 6-3. Bhujel netted Machhindra's seventh goal three minutes from the end to complete the scoring.
With their third victory of the league, two-time defending champions Machhindra accumulated 12 points to move up to sixth position, while Khumaltar remained at the 10th place with seven points.
In another match, Tribhuvan Army Football Club defeated Jawalakhel Youth Club 3-1 at the ANFA Complex grounds. TAFC skipper Gillespye Jung Karki opened the scoring in the 17th minute of the match, while Nawayug Shrestha doubled the tally from the spot in the 55th minute.
Sunil Khadka reduced the deficit for JYC in the 62nd minute but Sudil Rai restored TAFC's two-goal cushion in the 80th minute.
Following their third win of the league, TAFC moved three places up to fifth with 12 points, ahead of Machhindra FC on head-to-head results. TAFC had defeated Machhindra 2-0 on March 9. Jawalakhel, who had earned seven points in their last three matches with two wins and a draw, remained at the second position with 14 points.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 12, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
