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Kathmandu,Sunday April 16, 2000 Baishakh 04, 2057.
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Nepal U-16, Sankata win by
solitary goal
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, April 15 - Nepal Under-16 and Sankata both won their respective
match through a solitary goal here Saturday to advance to the next stage of the first
Pasang Lhamu memorial football tournament.
Both of today’s matches turned out to be lackluster affairs though.
In the first match, the Under-16 team, despite looking sharp for most of the
time against Naxal Yuva Mandal, failed to finish off several close chances.
Ganesh Limbu, Raju Katuwal looked impressive up-front while skipper, Binod
Nakarmi was busy pushing the ball forward. The defence line of Tilak Gurung, B Pokharel
and Janak Shahi too shielded their goal well from the opposition attacks.
On the other hand, Naxal Yuva Mandal aside of some sporadic attacks otherwise
found wanting almost in every department of the game. They were fortunate, however, to
remain with clean sheet going into the lemon break.
They had couple of chances midway through the second session, only to see
both of them go begging due to poor finishing from Sagar Lama and Ramesh Basnet.
Just as it seemed the match was heading for a extra time, the Under-16 team
broke the deadlock two minutes from time. A nicely built move from the back was converted
into goal from close range by Nabin Neupane after tapping a pass from skipper Nakarmi.
The other match of the day between Sankata and Boys Union Club was played at
dull pace, coupled with terrible shooting, making it hard to believe that it was between
the two ‘A’ division sides.
Neither of the teams played in right earnest. The approach was mostly casual
with no planning in the mid-field and most of the attacks were ill-conceived and
purposeless.
After the scoreless first session, the play resumed with relatively more
raids on each other’s territory.
Boys Union, dictating the pace with some swift passes, had several close look
at the goal in that session but were unlucky not to find the net. Kumar Subba almost put
them on lead two minutes into second half. But what would have been a certain goal at the
one-to-one situation, his hasty shot only hit the rival goalie much to their relief.
Sankata, who were denied a goal on Pravin Shikhrakar’s header by the
upright early in the 49th minute, eventually nailed the winner 74 minutes into the match.
Shiva Karki’s long attempt from the right hit the crossbar but before
the Sankata keeper could do anything, Kalyan Khadgi, who was perfectly positioned inside
the six-yard box forced it back into the net with his head on rebound to author a 1-0 win.
Friends’ Club of Kupondole will meet Boys Sports Club on Sunday for a
place in the semifinals. |
