Pun, who replaced Jagjeet Shrestha in the 76th minute, scored five minutes after his entry. He directed the ball into the net from the box in a pass set by Ganesh Khadka that he received in a cross of Korean midfielder Kim Nam Gyu. [break]
With the win, MMC reclaimed the top spot that was occupied by title defenders Nepal Police Club on Thursday after their 3-0 win over Friends Club. MMC have 16 points with five wins and a draw while the police are in second spot with 14 points playing equal matches.
RCT are in eighth position with five points with a win and two draws in their account. APF have climbed to seventh position with seven points after two wins and a draw while Sankata who have added only three points with a win are at the bottom of the table.
RCT created frequent good moves as compared to MMC, but MMC succeeded in finding the back of the net.
RCT were unlucky in the 76th minute when Buddha Lama´s powerful grass shot from the box went wide hitting the pole. In the 72nd minute, Nagen Lama missed a one-versus-one chance with goalie Bishal Shrestha. In the first half, Dipak Rai´s shot from about 25 yard was punched by MMC goalie Shrestha.
RCT coach Madhu Karki said that his side lost despite playing well. “The strikers are not in form and they failed to utilize chances,” Karki said, also expressed his dissatisfaction at the referee´s decision. “The referees are not fair and are showing unnecessary cards.”
MMC coach Chhiring Lopsang also vented his ire on the referees. “The referees discriminate between the senior, junior and foreign players. For the same offense, they punish junior and foreign players but the same rule does not apply in case of senior players,” Lopsang said.
Satisfied with his side´s performance he said, “The boys played up to their potential; however, there was lack of scoring.”
Meanwhile, Jagjeet Shrestha, Lee Jihoon and Ganesh Khadka will be barred from playing in the next match after they got two yellow cards in the league, including one each on Friday.
In the first match of the day, first half goals each from Ganesh Lawati and Tanka Lama in the first three minutes helped APF defeat Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club 2-0 to register second victory in the tournament.
Dominating the match from the beginning against Sankata, who have been going through a bad time in the league, APF scored twice in the 28th and 30th minutes through Lawati and Lama.
Lawati beat Bangladeshi goalie Muhammad Nurul Karim from the box to open the scoring. Lama doubled the advantage taking away the ball from defender Ravi Thapa and beat goalie Karim. Sankata could not come up with any remarkable post attacks.
Despite going through a worst run, Sankata coach Chet Narayan Shrestha said the threat of relegation could be known only after the completion of the first round of the league. The failure in utilizing opportunities was the main reason behind this defeat, Shrestha said.
APF coach Maheshwar Mulmi said the opponents played better than his side. He pointed out the lack of coordination between his players.
Saturday´s matches
Boys Union Vs Army Club
Jawalakhel Vs Three Star
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