Nepali international Jumanu Rai netted twice for the departmental giant in either half after Deependra Paudel had put the team in charge in the ninth minute.[break]
The win extended Police’s lead to six points at the top of the points table with 18 points after the first match of round six. Second-place Jawalakhel Youth Club, with a match advantage over Police, has 12 points. Sherpa remained unchanged in the third place with 10 points.
In the one-sided match dominated by Police, Paudel opened the scoring with a powerful shot from the box in a short pass set by Ramesh Katuwal off a Bhola Silwal cross.
Rai made it 2-0 in a counter-attack in the 35th minute in a pass off Paudel. He then sealed the victory in the last minute of the match, tapping in a Bhola Silwal pass from the six-yard box, for his fourth league goal.
Police piled up consistent pressure throughout the match and created nearly half-a-dozen scoring chances. Sherpa was forced to replace Nirajan Malla, who was assigned the forward’s role, with Deepak Rai in the 18th minute as he picked up a knee injury.
Police had nearly taken the lead in the third minute but Sherpa goalie Bikesh Kutu cleverly pushed out Bhola Silwal’s bouncing header in Parbat Pandey’s free-kick to foil the attempt. Police the won five consecutive corners but failed to convert them.
Rai and Bharat Khawas each missed a golden scoring opportunity in the injury time of the first half. Rai could have scored in the 53rd minute had his shot not hit the post while beating the goalie from a tight angle. Rai also squandered scoring opportunities in the 68th and 78th minutes.
Rai’s header in the 78th minute hit the woodwork while Khawas’ shot from close range skied above the bar two minutes later.
Sherpa’s Korean player Jangbyoung Joo was unsuccessful in his two attempts in the first half. Joo’s 22nd-minute half-volley strike was denied by Police custodian Ritesh Thapa, and in the 39th he hit a cross from Nabin Neupane high above the bar. In the 73rd minute, goalie Thapa cleverly punched the ball to deny Som Bahadur Malla’s shot from the left flank.
Sherpa will miss its Korean forward Jeoung Jinho in its next match as he received his second yellow card of the league during the match.
Following his team’s painful defeat, Sherpa coach Upendraman Singh said his team’s title hopes were getting slimmer and tagged Police as the favorite. “We had fielded Nirajan Malla with a different strategy, but we failed after his replacement in the early moments.” He also lauded Police’s performance.
Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha said that Sherpa could not play up to his expectations. Defending his forwards’ poor finishing, Shrestha said, “The forwards hurry after taking the ball to the opponent’s danger zone.” He also said that his side could win the title only after winning the next two matches.
Sahukhala scores hat-trick in MMC’s 5-0 win
Nepali international striker Santosh Sahukhala completed a hat-trick in Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club’s (MMC) 5-0 rout of Caravan Sangam FC from Pokhara in the last match of the fifth round in the day’s early kick-off. Ito Dan and Anil Gurung scored one apiece for MMC.
Sahukhala’s hat-trick made him the joint top scorer of the league along with Nawayug Shestha of Nepal Army Club with five goals each. Sahukhala also became the second player to score a hat-trick in the league after Shrestha, who had scored four goals in Army’s 5-1 win over Sangam.
Following a dismal start to the league, the win over Sangam lifted MMC to the fourth spot with 10 points. Sangam, yet to open its account, lies at the bottom of the points table.
In the one-sided match, Dan opened the scoring in the 12th minute and Sahukhala doubled the tally in the 20th minute. Sahukhala scored his second goal in the 41st minute and completed the hat-trick in the stoppage time. Anil Gurung found the target in the 68th minute.
Following his team’s impressive win, MMC coach Hari Om Shrestha said his side’s title hopes rest on the results of the upcoming matches of Police.
“I am optimistic that the protest we filed against Sherpa will be decided in our favor,” said Shrestha, referring to a complaint filed against Sherpa for fielding a player -- Kunjan Gurung -- who allegedly plays for a sixth-tier club of England.
“The strikers missed numerous chances in the first half and they also put less effort after scoring early goals,” Shrestha added.
Shrestha, Gurung’s
Ban ends
A three-match ban on MMC duo Sujal Shrestha and Bijay Gurung has ended after Thursday’s match. On Thursday, MMC was also without its influential midfielder Shiva Shrestha as he was handed a second yellow card of the league against Jawalakhel in the previous match. National players Shrestha and Gurung were handed the three-match ban after they were involved in a brawl during their second match against New Road Team (NRT) in Pokhara.
Today’s matches
Three Star vs RCT @ 12:15 NST
JYC vs NRT @ 14:30 NST
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