Three Star, NPC register victories

Lalitpur, October 11

Ruslan Three Star Club and Nepal Police Club registered victories in their first matches of the Pulsar Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League here at the ANFA Complex grounds today.

Three Star defeated Friends Club 2-1, while NPC beat Jawalakhel Youth Club 1-0 to start their campaigns on winning notes.

In the day’s first match, Ranjan Bista and Buddha Chemjong scored for Three Star, while Bikash Lama netted the consolation goal for Friends in injury time.

Three Star took the lead in the 17th minute on Bista’s solo effort as he guided the ball from centre and beat past defenders before firing home from d-box. Chemjong doubled the lead in the 83rd minute capitalising on defensive error from Friends defenders. Chemjong collected a miss-pass from a Friends defender outside the penalty area and buried the ball into the nets.

Lama pulled one back in the injury time but it was too for Friends to come back into the match. Substitute player Lama, who was unmarked inside the six-yard box, found the back of the nets in a rebound six minutes after entering the pitch.

Three Star dominated the match from the beginning and created ample scoring opportunities. Peter Segun missed a chance in the fourth minute of the match, Ranjit Dhimal failed to guide the ball into the nets following a free kick from Sunil Bal in the fifth minute. Ajayi Martins tried his luck from tight angle in the 37th minute but failed to find the back of the nets, while Dhimal’s free kick went off target in the 42nd minute after Bista was brought down at the edge of the box.

Three Star pressed hard in the second half as well. Fed by Nirajan Khadka from the mid in the 57th minute, Chemjong attempted an acrobatic shot but he missed the target at a time when Friends’ Bangladeshi goalkeeper Mohammad Karim was not at his proper position. Martins then wasted an opportunity in the 60th minute. Chemjong could not find the target minutes later when his low header following a pass from Bal went inches wide.

Friends came close to scoring on one occasion each in the both halves. Skipper Dhiraj Shrestha could not convert the chance in the 13th minute, while Three Star defender Bishnu Sunar cleared the ball from goalline after custodian Alan Neupane spilled a free kick from Saroj Yonjon Lama in the 62nd minute.

In another match, Ajit Bhandari scored the solitary goal as NPC walked away with full three points against Jawalakhel. The NPC team work was at its best when they broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. NPC earned a free kick at the edge of the area and Suman Lama gave a short pass to his right to Tej Tamang, who crossed it to the far post and Bhandari tapped in to complete the beautiful move.

Jawalakhel goalkeeper Tikendra Thapa, who had rescued his team on two occasions earlier, was out of clue this time around. Thapa denied Suman Lama from six-yard box, while he also made a spectacular dive to save Hem Tamang’s long-range attempt. Jawalakhel came close to levelling the scores in the 60th minute but Rakesh Hamal’s header went off target. Likewise, Prajwal Thapa Magar could not score in one-on-one after his teammate snatched the ball from NPC defender Ajit.

NPC also missed a couple of chances to double the lead in the second half. Suman Lama shot directly at the hands of Jawalakhel custodian Thapa, while the same player failed to give finishing touch on Abhishek Rijal’s low cross inside the penalty area and Bharat Shah ended up with a wayward shot.

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