Boys Union defeated NIBL Friends Club 1-0 to finish on top of the group despite collecting equal six points as that of Jawalakhel which edged past Yeti Himalayan Sherpa Club 3-1 in day´s later fixture. Boy´s Union held upper hand against Jawalakhel on the basis of head-to-head records. [break]
Boys Union will lock horns with group B runner up RCT in the quarterfinal to be played on Monday while Jawalakhel will meet group winner Three Star club on Sunday.
Former NRT player Asim Jung Karki netted the decisive goal for Boys Union in the 28th minute after squandering two chances earlier. Karki fired home the winner from 25-yard collecting a miss-pass from Santosh Tamang. Karki was also favored for the goal by diminutive Friends custodian Ajeet Prajapati who had moved bit ahead of his position.
Earlier in the 15th minute, Karki had fired above the bar in one-on-one situation with goalie Prajapati collecting Bindo Lama´s rebounder off the pole. Two minutes later, Karki missed a sitter firing straight at the custodian´s hand with only the last man as his obstacle.
The second half remained just the opposite of first half which saw control of Friends throughout the match but failed to score despite creating as many as four chances. "The boy´s did not come up with their full effort in the first half. But the second half was far better though we failed in the scoring," Friends coach Meghraj KC said at the post match conference. He said that his side did not aim high in the tournament rather than team setting.
Anil Ojha wasted two chances for Friends in the 59th and 81st minute both firing high above the bar. Earlier in the 56th custodian Boys Union custodian Raju Yogi denied Victor Amobi´s close range strike and Arjun Subba headed inches above bar in the resulting corner. In the injury time as well, goalie Yogi made a brilliant punch to deny Ritesh Malla powerful strike from the edge.
Boys Union coach Bijaya Maharjan said that luck favored his side. "We came under pressure after defender Ashik Thapa Magar was forced to be substituted in the second half due to injuries."
In the later match, skipper Pradip Maharjan netted twice for Jawalakhle in its win over Sherpa. Raj Poudyal was also on target for Jawalakhel. Segun Akinade Eyitayo had netted for Sherpa and leveled the match at a moment but could not last longer.
Maharjan broke the deadlock one minute before interval for Sherpa after he got free header opportunity in corner taken by Ram Thapa Magar. Maharjan´s powerful header entered net despite custodian Binay Shrestha getting his hand on the ball. Eyitayo, the African recruit for Sherpa, leveled scoring nine minutes into second half through a header in Subash Gurung pass to sending the ball at the back of net after hitting upright.
Paudel restored the lead for Jawalakhel in the 66th making similar fashion header in corner of Ram Thapa Magar. Maharjan ensured the victory for Jawalakhel in the last minute taking advantage of defensive error of Samrat Pal who applied feeble shot in the area providing easy opportunity for him to score.
Jawalakhel coach Raj Kumar KC termed his side´s performance as best in the tournament. He was also full of praise for Maharjan and opined that he would make a comeback to the national team soon. Sherpa coach Bikash Gauchan did not attend the post match conference.
Group D Points Table
Team P W D L GF GA Pts
Boys Union 3 2 0 1 4 4 6
Jawalakhel 3 2 0 1 5 4 6
Friends 3 1 0 2 2 2 3
H Sherpa 3 1 0 2 3 4 3
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