Thakuri strikes in injury time as the Lalitpur-based team registers third consecutive victory
KATHMANDU, MARCH 11
Deepak Raj Singh Thakuri scored in the injury time as Royal Blue Satdobato Youth Club defeated Friends Club 1-0 to register their third straight victory in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League here at the Dasharath Stadium today.
At a time when the match was heading towards a goalless draw, Thakuri produced the moment of brilliance in the third minute of the five-minute injury time. After receiving a pass from Niraj Chaudhary inside the box, Thakuri managed to beat Friends defender Prem Bhandari and goalkeeper Raja Babu Thapa to score his third goal of the league.
Earlier, SYC earned a free kick at the edge of the box but William Opoku Asiedu's shot sailed inches above the bar in the 40th minute. Friends then put pressure on their opponents with a couple of shots before the break. SYC defender Narendra Chaudhary cleared the ball from near the goalline to deny Rafiq Aminu in the 43rd minute.
Satdobato faced another anxious moment when Aminu headed towards the goal following a corner from skipper Prakash Budhathoki and this time Sushil Lama made a brilliant save from goalline. Friends skipper Budhathoki made an attempt in rebound but Abdul Latif Abubakari blocked his shot.
The match was played on a soggy pitch due to sudden rain before the kickoff and players from both the teams struggled to keep the ball. With their third consecutive victory, SYC accumulated maximum nine points and they are at the second position behind newcomers Church Boys United on inferior goal difference. Jawalakhel Youth Club, who earlier played a goalless draw with APF Football Club, are at the third position with seven points.
Six teams - Manang Marshyangdi Club, APF, Tribhuvan Army Football Club, Himalayan Sherpa Club, Sankata Club and Three Star Club - are tied on four points. FC Khumaltar have three points, while Friends, who faced their second defeat, are 11th on one point. New Road Team, two-time defending champions Machhindra FC and Nepal Police Club are yet to open their accounts.
In another match at the Dasharath Stadium, 10-man APF held JYC to a 0-0 draw. Both sides created ample opportunities in an entertaining first half but none of them could find the back of the nets. APF were reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute when Adama Doumbia received marching orders. Doumbia went wild the moment referee Prajwol Chhetri blew his whistle for a foul against JYC striker Hishub Thapaliya and he received a yellow card. But Doumbia did not stop there and used foul language towards the match officials and he was expelled promptly.
Against the spirit of game, Doumbia refused to leave the pitch and he spent a couple of minutes walking around the pitch. The officials also did not react to his awkward behaviour and the player was allowed to watch the match from outside dressing room under the general parapet.
APF coach Ratna Kajee Maharjan accepted his players' mistake but he accused the referee of failing to handle the situation. "The aggression will always be there on the field but I think the referee should have handled the situation with maturity," he said. "He is an important player in the squad and his absence will definitely make a difference in our next match. But at the same time, I believe the young players in the team are also ready to fire," he added.
JYC coach Sunil Kumar Shrestha lamented the players for losing the ball possession on opponents' half. "We have been giving away the ball easily and the midfield was unable to create chances as expected," he said. "We also failed to capitalise on numerical advantage as our key players failed to fire today."
At the Chyasal Stadium, Nepal Police Club suffered to their third straight defeat after they faced a 3-0 loss at the hands of Sankata Club. Ganesh Hamal opened the scoring for Sankata in the 12th minute when he collected a pass from Junior Onguene Nkengue and beat a defender before slotting past NPC goalkeeper Shatrudhan Chaudhary.
Roshan Pahari, who came in place of Sunil Shrestha in the 57th minute, doubled Sankata's tally in the 80th minute after he met the ball half cleared by Hemanta Shrestha and slammed home from the edge of the box. Suraj Jeu Thakuri put the issue beyond doubt following a pass from Manish Dangi.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 12, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
