Earlier, in the first match, a last gasp goal from Top Bahadur Bista helped Armed Police Force (APF) rescue a point from Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club as the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate. [break]
Playing the 18th league match, Three Star accumulated 35 points, six points behind leaders Nepal Police Club and one point ahead of third placed New Road Team (NRT). Both Police and NRT have a match advantage over Three Star.
Jawalakhel climbed two steps up to seventh while APF remained unchanged in 10th position with 13 points, one point ahead of relegation line Boys Union.
Vishad Gauchan scored twice for Three Star and leading goal scorer Santosh Sahukhala scored another to add a 17th goal to his name and take sweet revenge for the 1-0 loss suffered in the first leg against MMC. Shayan Mosavi of NRT and Ganesh Lawati of APF with 13 and nine goals are second and third in the highest goal scorers list.
Gauchan opened the scoring in the 14th minute through a header in a corner of Castory D Mumbara, Tanzanian midfielder for Three Star. Sahukhala doubled the tally in the 65th minute after beating three defenders and goalie Bishal Shrestha in a pass by Komal Khawas. Gauchan sealed the match in the 75th minute beating the goalie and a defender utilizing Sahukhala´s pass.
MMC made about half a dozen attacks but Three Star goalie Kiran Chemjong made some attractive saves to prevent them from scoring. In the 35th minute an Oh Suchg Hwan strike from the edge was saved by goalie Chemjong. Similarly, Chemjong twice denied Shiva Shrestha in the 54th and 80th minutes.
In the first match of the day, striker Bista scored in the 90th minute to level the scoring. Bista chipped over an advancing goalie to send the ball past the net in a pass supplied by Jibesh Pandey.
Earlier, substitute Laxmi Shrestha had opened the scoring for Jawalakhel in the 68th minute. Shrestha, the 23rd minute replacement for Thomas Scott, scored through a brilliant shot from the box in a pass by skipper Raj Kumar Ghising.
In the drab affair, Jawalakhel could not manage more than one attack on target in the first half as compared to three attacks by APF. In the 27th minute Raj Paudel´s bouncing header was saved by custodian Samit Rajbhandari with a dive. Kumar Thapa´s 14th minute strike and Ganesh Lawati´s two shots for APF were denied by Jawalakhel custodian Bikram Gurung.
APF assistant coach Rajaram Karki said that they failed in their target of gaining full points. “The boys could not play as expected,” Karki said. He lauded APF´s performance.
APF manager Prem Kumar Shrestha said it was a misfortune for them to share points. “The team played well but failed to score,” Shrestha said.
Stadium turns into battlefield
The Dasharath Stadium once again turned into a battlefield during the match between Three Star Club and Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC).
Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan and midfielder Castory D Mumbara of Three Star were subjected to a manhandle attempt by MMC officials while a supporter of MMC got a thrashing in the parapet from Three Star supporters after the match became tense in the 80th minute.
The match was interrupted for about 10 minutes following the incident. This is the fourth time a match has been interrupted during the ongoing league football.
The match became tense after Mumbara caught Ganesh Khadka of MMC by his neck. Khadka was alleged to have stepped on fallen Mumbara´s hand. Before that, Satish Bhandari of MMC had played a foul on Mumbara near the box line. Mumbara and Niraj Remi Magar of MMC were shown yellow cards.
Thenceforth, angry MMC officials disturbed the match, expressing dissatisfaction with the referee´s decision to show only a yellow card to Mumbara.
An unidentified person from the MMC technical box attempted to assault coach Maharjan following Mumbara´s offense against Khadka.
At the same moment, a group of Three Star fans thrashed a young MMC fan accusing him of throwing a bottle at Mumbara. Meanwhile, one of the ANFA volunteers opened his volunteer beaf and joined in to thrash the MMC fan.
MMC coach Chhiring Lopsang said that the mismanagement of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) and the negligence of referees were the main cause of dispute in the match. He also slammed the security arrangements for the league.
Three Star coach Bal Gopal Maharjan also said the weak security arrangements were the greatest drawback of the league.
“The players became the target of the angry spectators while leaving for the changing room at the end of the match and the organizing body does not seem to be serious,” he said, also questioning the presence of many people in the technical line, including unnecessary ANFA officials.
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