KATHMANDU, MARCH 14
Sankata Club ended Church Boys United's three-match winning streak with a goalless draw in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League at the ANFA Complex grounds today.
United goalkeeper Yves Priso blocked Manish Dangi's penalty kick in the injury time to help his side maintain the unbeaten run. Despite the draw, newcomers United stayed at the top of the table with 10 points, one more than Royal Blue Satdobato Youth Club, who faced their first loss in their fourth match at the hands of Three Star Club yesterday. Sankata accumulated five points from four matches.
At a time when the match was heading towards the end, Sankata earned a spot kick in the injury time when Kamal Shrestha handled the ball inside the box while trying to clear a cross. Dangi stepped up to take the penalty but Priso blocked his shot and the striker shot wide in rebound.
Earlier, United's Prashant Laksam came close to scoring in the 16th minute but his shot rebounded to play off the post, while Sankata's Junior Onguene Nkengue shot wide moments later. United should have taken the lead in the 18th minute when Anjan Bista released the ball for Ashish Chapagain inside the box but the player failed to beat Sankata goalkeeper Bishnu Kumar KC in one-on-one situation.
Erik Bista made a clearance from goal-line to deny Sankata's Biyik Biyik in the 43rd minute. Both teams created chances in the second half but they could not find the back of the nets. And Sankata missed an opportunity to score from the spot in the injury time.
At the Dasharath Stadium, Friends Club defeated Jawalakhel Youth Club 2-1 to register their first victory in the league. Friends skipper Prakash Budhathoki and Rafiq Aminu scored for Friends, while Fode Fofana replied for JYC. With the win, Friends accumulated four points from four matches, while JYC, who faced their first defeat in four matches, have seven points.
Aminu opened the scoring in rebound after JYC goalkeeper Anish Deula failed to gather the ball properly despite stopping Budhathoki from scoring in one-on-one situation in the 19th minute, and Friends' foreign recruit pounced on the ball before slotting home from close range.
Friends doubled the tally in the 40th minute when Budhathoki found the back of the nets following a cross from Laxman Ruchal. Fofana reduced the deficit from the spot in the 87th minute after Friends defender Amit Tamang brought down Samiraj Thokar inside the box. JYC reduced to 10 men in the fifth minute of the injury time when skipper Simant Thapa received second yellow card of the match for pushing Aminu.
In another match at the Dasharath Stadium, two-time defending champions Machhindra Football Club came from a goal down to edge past Nepal Police Club 2-1 for their first victory. With their first victory in four matches, Machhindra - who faced defeats in the first two games - accumulated four points and they are at the 12th position. NPC slumped to their worst run in the league with fourth straight loss and they are the lone side yet to open their accounts.
NPC took the lead in the ninth minute of the match when Anjan Rai headed home on a cross from Ravi Paswan. Afeez Olawale Oladipo then scored twice in the space of 12 minutes to put Machhindra ahead. He levelled the scores in the 29th minute with a strike in rebound and scored his second goal of the match in the 41st minute. Oladipo buried the ball into an open nets after NPC goalkeeper Sanjeet Shrestha was deceived by a deflected cross from Yuta Suzuki.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 15, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
