A 2-1 win over Sherpa boosted Jawalakhel’s survival hopes in the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League while NRT beat MMC for the first time in 12 years. NRT’s Messouke Oloumou (left) celebrates after scoring the winner against MMC on Sunday. Post Photo
Relegation-threatened Jawalakhel Youth Club boosted their survival bid in the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League with a much needed 2-1 victory over Himalayan Sherpa Club while big guns Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) suffered their first defeat against New Road Team in 12 years as they succumbed to a 1-0 loss on Saturday.
Cameroonian forward Onguna Junior scored a late goal for Jawalakhel as they secured vital three points that lifted them six points clear of the drop zone with one match in hand. Earlier, Rup Bahadur Lama had given them early lead before Amrit Shrestha hit back the equaliser in the second half.
The victory lifted Jawalakhel two spots up to ninth, level on 13 points with Sherpa. Both Jawalakhel and Sherpa have only one match before the league wraps up. Chyasal Youth Club have already dropped to second division in the league that sees the bottom two sides at the completion of the 13th round relegated. Brigade Boys Club are second from bottom with seven points but have two matches in hand.
After his side's third win, Jawalakhel coach Kishor KC was confident of avoiding relegation. "We are almost safe from the threat of relegation at the penultimate round of the league and I am 90 percent confident of avoiding the relegation. We, however, need to improve on many aspects," said KC.
A spirited Jawalakhel broke the deadlock in the 15th minute through midfielder Rup Bahadur Lama who scored directly from a corner kick. Sherpa restored the parity in the 71st through Amrit Shrestha. The defender made a spectacular overhead kick to convert Bishon Gurung's corner after it was flick headed by Ulrich Siewe.
As the match was seemingly heading towards a draw, Junior headed Ivorian midfielder Florent Koara's pass to score the decisive goal from the crowded area.
In the last kick of the day, eight-time champions MMC succumbed not only to their first league defeat against NRT since 2010 but also to a second successive loss. MMC’s last two defeats in a row came against Nepal Police Club and Tribhuvan Army Club the same season. In the same edition, they were defeated 2-0 by NRT.
Messouke Oloumou netted the all important goal in the 26th minute to lift NRT three spots up as they replaced MMC in the second position. Both NRT and MMC have 20 points, but the former are in the second position due to the victory. MMC have accumulated just one point from the last four matches while NRT have earned 10 points from as many games.
The Cameroonian midfielder capitalised on a freekick by Arik Bista after he was set up by compatriot Setpahne Binong inside the area. MMC came closer to scoring late in the game but their Nigerian forward Olawale Afeez's header in a Bimal Rana cross hit the woodwork.
MMC coach Fuja Tope blamed injury to his key players as the reason for the defeat.
"Many players are not fully fit and our next game against Army will be vital for us to secure the second position," said the Nigerian coach.
NRT Coach Raju Kaji Shakya said they could have scored more goals. “We got some chances to score but failed to do so," he said.
14.12°C Kathmandu
