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Kathmandu,Monday January 24, 2000 Magh 10th, 2056.
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Nepal Red, South Korea settle for scoreless draw
-By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - Nepal Red and
Soongsil University of South Korea shared the points as the second match of the Group A
encounter finished scoreless Sunday under the third ANFA-Coca Cola International
Invitational football tournament.
The Koreans, who trampled the Bhutanese
6-0 on Friday, were tipped to win against Nepal Red as well, but it was not to be. The
Nepalese not only contended the Korean strikers, but also opened up the opposition defence
a number of times.
The Nepalese coach, Stephen Constantine’s
plan to employ man-to-man marking paid rich dividends in the match. Rakesh Shrestha and
Anil Subba were handed a responsibility to mark the opposition strikers--Ko Ki Gu, Do Hwa
Sung.
And what Shrestha and Subba did
throughout the match, tying them down for the ninety minutes, would surely please their
coach.
The Koreans, dictating the pace early on,
made threatening moves and almost took the lead in the 12th minute. But luckily for the
Nepalese, Lee Young Wook’s flick-header on Park Yoon Hwa’s right cross glissed
past the crossbars.
Ko Ki Gu, who completed a hat-trick the
other day, was compelled to remain at bay due to some brave defensive work and his own
failures in front of goal.
Upendra Man Sing too came away with a
fine performance under the bars, saving a couple of full-blooded Korean attempts.
As their wall passes proved ineffective,
they tried to break open the Nepalese defensive door through diagonal passes, but that did
not work much either. Such moves, however, gave the opposition opportunities to surge
ahead in counterattacks.
Nepal started to play more openly in the
second session, spreading themselves in the midfield. Making swift runs on the flanks,
especially from the right, they even forced the Koreans on to their heels midway through.
But both Naresh Joshi and Hari Khadka
found it hard to get past the formidable Korean defenders, who tackled them with
considerable ease.
Their finest chance came in the 74th
minute, following a nice run down the right by Rabin Byanjankar. But Rajan Rayamajhi who
came in for Joshi, failed to cause any harm despite finding a clear ball inside the
18-yard area.
Nepal were limited to ten-men in few
minutes to the close as Basanta Thapa was carried off the field due to an injury,
following a collision with a rival player. The Koreans, however, failed to make any use of
it as Do Hwa Sung failed to direct his header in to the Nepalese goal.
Earlier, the president of Soongsil
University, Dr Yoon-Bae Ouh handed over footballs and other sports equipment to the ANFA
president, Ganesh Thapa as a token of friendship.
Today’s match
Nepal Blue vs Bangladesh Army (2:30pm)
Other Story
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