The results that marked the completion of sixth round lifted both teams one spot up -- Three Star to the second position with 15 points and MMC to the third with equal 14 points as that of fourth placed RCT on the basis of goals superiority. [break]
Leader Machhindra has 16 points. Jawalakhel, placed 13th with six points, borders on relegation. Sherpa, unchanged at the 14th position with four points, was unable to move out of the danger zone.
Santosh Sahukhala celebrates goal.
The fifth win in a row for Three Star, after it received a blow in its first match against minnow Saraswati, included second consecutive hat-trick of Nepali international striker Santosh Sahukhala.
The three goals of Sahukhala put him at the top of highest scorer chart with eight goals, three ahead of Machhindra skipper Deepak Rai, the second highest scorer.
In the encounter of two Lalitpur teams, all five goals including one from Jawalakhel were made in the first half. Winger Anil Ojha gave an eighth minute lead to Three Star when he tapped in defender Biraj Maharjan´s cross following a defensive error of Sushil Shah.
Sahukhala doubled the advantage two minutes later when he struck from close range defusing an offside trap in Bikram Limbu pass. Sahukhala made it 3-1 in the 28th minute through a spotkick awarded after Jaggu Nath Khadka fouled Lama in the danger zone. Sahukhala achieved hat-trick in the 36th minute with a clever finish from the area in Abio Dun Ibrahim´s pass. The ball entered net with a deflection at the upright.
Jawalakhel´s African recruit Juma Benlee cut the goal deficit in the 38th minute beating past defender Sandip Rai and custodian Kiran Chemjong in John Dike pass. Jawalakhel created a couple of scoring chances in the second half but failed to utilize them.
"Rather than scoring more goals after the interval, we focused on improving performance as we had already scored four goals thus we did not score in the second half," said Three Star coach Pradeep Humagain.
Regarding his team´s title hope Humagain said, "Three Star is playing for title since the beginning of league. But I am concerned with our next encounter against Madhyapur rather than title for the time being."
Humagain´s counterpart Kishor KC said that his side failed to find its rhythm in the initial 15 minutes. "There was great mistake in our defense line up in the beginning," said KC, who lauded his team´s effort. "Despite conceding four goals, the boys scored a goal giving proof of their killing zeal."
In the kick-off match, MMC was fortunate to win despite looking inferior against Sherpa. MMC´s Cameroonian forward Fils Sergio Chico gave the breakthrough in the 51st minute that turned out to be the match decider. The tallest player of the league headed in Sabindra Shrestha´s cross.
MMC coach Krishna Thapa tagged his side´s performance worst since he took over the team. "It´s the 15th match that I oversaw as coach of MMC and the worst as well. There was no coordination among players."
Chico squandered another chance in the 68th minute, while skipper Anil Gurung also wasted scoring chance four minutes before the end of regular time when he fired high above bar after chest-controlling a pass from Sulav Maskey.
Skipper Gurung, booked with third yellow card of the league on Saturday, will miss his side´s next match against leader Machhindra on Wednesday.
Sherpa created as many as half a dozen chances all of which were unsuccessful. In the 19th minute, Sujal Shrestha made a goalline clear to prevent Buchi Nick strike in Ganesh Khadka corner. In the 41st minute MMC custodian Emmanuel Dare denied Rupesh KC. Likewise, a couple of late attempts by substitute Dhiroj Tamang were unsuccesful.
Sherpa´s coach Tenzing Sherpa termed injury of his stubborn left back Som Bahadur Malla as setback for the team. Malla was rushed to hospital after he collided with MMC skipper Gurung in the 10th minute. Tenzing Sherpa opined that his side conceded due to misunderstanding among players.
Sunday´s matches
Police Vs Bansbari @ 12:30 NST
Bauddha Vs Friends @ 14:30 NST
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