Sports

‘A’ Division League: Win lifts Sankata to second spot, Brigade Boys stuns APF

Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) prevailed in a departmental duel as it beat Nepal Police Club (NPC) 1-0 while Sankata Club defeated Machhindra FC 2-0 to climb to second spot in the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League football tournament on Friday. ‘A’ Division League: Win lifts Sankata to second spot, Brigade Boys stuns APF

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Adarsha Dhakal

Published at : November 24, 2018

Updated at : November 24, 2018 10:54

Lalitpur

Tek Bahadur Budhathoki scored the only goal for the Armymen in a match that hardly saw notable moves at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato.

Earlier at the same venue, Brigade Boys Club (BBC) rallied from a goal down to stun Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club 3-1 for its first win of the campaign. Second half goals from Nitin Thapa and Amit Tamang were enough for Sankata to register its third consecutive victory.

Friday’s result meant Sankata remained at the heels of league leaders Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) after the two teams were tied on nine points and equal goal difference. Only the best scoring rate has put MMC, who have netted seven to that of Sankata’s five, ahead in the points table. Armymen leapfrogged Three Star to fourth with seven points from three matches.

Three Star have six points from three matches. Chyasal Youth Club, NPC, Himalayan Sherpa Club and APF are tied on four points with only the goal difference separating the four teams. From pit-bottom Brigade has climbed to the ninth in the standings.

At the ANFA Complex, it was NPC who dominated the first 15 minutes before the Armymen began to find its feet. Skipper Bharat Khawas missed an open chance when he was left unmarked and went for a bicycle kick that went wide in the 18th minute. Budhathoki was free to score after he was fed inside the area only to fire a wayward shot six minutes later.

Budhathoki finally made amends for his previous failures when Tanka Basnet fed him again at the same area and the midfielder made no mistake firing past NPC glovesman Shatrughan Chaudhary. NPC was close to equalising after Bikram Dhimal set Nir Kumar Rai for an open volley but the forward hit wide of the post.

TAC’s real chance in the second half came shortly after resumption when Santosh Tamang found a rebound off a shot from Dinesh Henjan. However, Tamang was unable to convert with his powerful low drive going wide. Dhimal almost scored an equaliser in the 55th minute only to see his header cleared from the goalline by defender Suman Aryal.

In the 75th minute, Bharat Shah’s powerful shot was punched to safety by Army custodian Bikesh Kuthu. NPC coach Ananta Thapa lauded his boys for playing a great game against a strong Army team. “They are strong opponent, there is no doubt about that. Hats off to the boys because they stuck to our plan and played really well,” said Thapa.

His TAC counterpart Nabin Neupane said his midfielders were below par. “The first half was a 50-50 affair and we managed to score during that period. We thought of playing defensively in the second half and look out for a goal in counter attack because they would keep pressing for equaliser. But during that phase, the midfield lost its venom,” said Neupane.

BBC’s come-from-behind was the toast of the day in the early match that went goalless in the first half. Roop Bahadur Lama put APF ahead in the 60th minute but BBC soon hit back four minutes later when Manoj Rai’s freekick found the top corner. African recruit Tazudeen Adukunee then put them ahead scoring in a goal-mouth scramble.

Kazeem Adegoke sealed the victory in style converting a long pass from Kailash Basnet with a powerful struck volley. APF was down to 10 men in the 89th minute after Bishwas Udash was got the marching orders for kicking Basnet in anguish after the midfielder was tripped.

Results

BBC 3-1 APF

TAC 1-0 NPC

Sankata 2-0 Machchhindra

Adarsha Dhakal
Adarsha Dhakal is a sports reporter for The Kathmandu Post. He has been reporting on sports for more than a decade, focusing on cricket, basketball and sports features. He has been with the Post for over five years and has worked for various other national publications.