Cameroonian forward Fils Sergio Chico and midfielder Shiva Shrestha, left out of the national squad during the final selection for the recently held AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers, were on target for MMC. In the first leg, RCT had defeated MMC 2-1.[break]
With the win in its first match of the super league round, MMC leapfrogged five spots to occupy the second position in the table. MMC is level on 29 points with third-placed NRT but has a better goal difference. RCT remained in the seventh place with equal 26 points as that of departmental team Nepal Police Club. Three Star leads the standings with 35 points.
"The victory has increased our hopes for the title," Lopsang, who had left the team two years ago after it finished fifth in the league, said during the post-match conference. "Only the first of seven round matches has finished and any outcome is possible," opined the 48-year old who guided the team to league title in 2062 BS.
RCT (Red) vs MMC players. (Photo: Bikash Karki)
Lopsang, also the former president of MMC, said they have made a good start to their super league campaign earning three points though the performance was not up to the mark.
MMC looked too strong for RCT from the start to finish piling up consistent pressure and creating more than half-a-dozen chances. RCT, on the other hand, failed to pose any real threat to the opposition goal.
MMC´s quest for goal ended in the injury time of first half when Chico pounced on the ball and slot home when it was still loosely held between the legs of diving custodian Prem Kumar Tamang on the goalline. Tamang had dived in the right direction when Nabin Neupane attempted a shot from the crowded box but the ball went in the opposite direction after RCT defender Krishna Kunwar headed toward his own goal in a bid to make a clearance.
Shrestha doubled the lead in the 69th minute with an unstoppable shot from close range after exchanging a couple of passes with skipper Anil Gurung.
In the 19th minute, MMC´s Neupane collected the ball after custodian Tamang fumbled in his attempt to stop Chico´s cross but his shot hit the side netting. In the 27th minute, Tamang punched Sabindra Shrestha´s freekick from the edge to safety. Bikash Singh Chhetri´s shot went off the target in the 41st minute and skipper Gurung headed wide four minutes later in Sujal Shrestha´s cross.
Chico squandered a scoring chance in the 57th minute as he hit off the target. During the injury time, glovesman Tamang made a full-stretched dive to prevent a well-placed shot taken by scorer Shrestha from the edge.
RCT coach Madhu Karki attributed the defeat to his players´ lack of fitness. "We had trained for only a week before the super league, so the players´ fitness level was poor," said Karki, adding that the absence of midfielder Yugal Kishor Rai due to three yellow cards also proved to be a setback for the team.
Tuesday´s matches
Three Star Vs Friends @ 13:30 NST
Police Vs NRT @ 15:30 NST
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