Kathmandu, September 19

Ruslan Three Star Club of Nepal registered a 6-1 victory against Barak FC of Nagaland in their opening match of the 64th Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy Football Tournament at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, India on Monday.

Three Star’s African recruits Kayode Martin scored a brace, while Nirajan Khadka, Buddha Chemjong, Sunil Bal and skipper Bikram Lama netted a goal each for the Lalitpur-based team. Itiebana scored the consolation goal for the Barak FC.

Martin opened the scoring in the fourth minute following a pass from Khadka and he doubled the lead when he headed home on a pass from Bimal Gharti Magar in the 22nd minute. Khadka made it 3-0 in the 39th minute before Etiebana reduced the deficit capitalising on defensive error of the visiting team players four minutes later.

Three Star slammed three more goals in the second half to register a comprehensive victory. Chemjong dodged as many as three defenders before slamming home in the 51st minute before Bal struck from the inside the penalty box to make it 5-1 for the visitors. Three Star skipper Lama then completed the rout when he guided the ball into the opponents area on his own before slamming home in an empty net after beating Barak goalkeeper in the 80th minute.

Three Star coach Megh Raj KC said he was happy with the team’s overall show. “The first match always hard but we could register a huge victory. The two new recruits added strength in the team,” said KC, who had guided the team to the final in the previous edition six years ago. “We made a couple of mistakes in the first half as the players seemed overconfident. We put up improved performance in the second half,” he added.

Skipper Bikram Lama said the players implemented the team strategy in the field. “Our team tactics worked and we were able to score more goals in the match,” said Lama. “We will keep on improving as the tournament progresses,” he added. Three Star will face Shillong Lajong on Friday.