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Kathmandu Saturday June 30, 2001 Ashadh 16, 2058.
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Gyanodaya football kicks
off with win for host
Post Report
LALITPUR, June 29 - The host Gyanodaya
defeated St. Xavier’s 4-1 in the opening match of the second Gyanodaya inter-school
football tournament which kicked off the premises of Gyanodaya School Bungmati here
Friday.
Spurred on by the home support, Gyanodaya
boys put in pressure over their rivals right from the whistle. Xavier’s, let down by
ill-directed shots and lack of coordination in the middle never looked convincing in the
match.
In the 13th minute, Gyanodaya went ahead when
Ashis Gurung, after collecting a pass in the penalty area, buried his shot into the roof
of the Xavier’s net.
The match developed into exciting battle
towards the close of the first half as Xavier’s, a goal down, began to push hard for
the equaliser. But that only put them on to further backfoot.
Gyanodaya striker Gyanendra Ale, one of the
players from ANFA youth project, doubled the lead to 2-0 five minutes from the change of
ends. His thunderous right-footed shot was simply too good to Xavier’s keeper, whose
desperate dive went in vain.
Xavier’s lone answer came in 10 minutes
into the second session when the captain, Alex Lama, beat the Gyanodaya keeper to narrow
the margin at 2-1. The goal pumped up the Xavier’s boys as they started to play more
attacking game.
However, they left their door wide open at
the back, inviting for more trouble. And it was not before too long that they paid penalty
for the mistake. Taking advantage of the situation, Ale lost his markers and fired the
ball home taking his shot from the top right corner making it 3-1 in the 60th minute.
Barely a minute later, defender Sandeep Rai,
following the foot steps of his skipper put the match beyond Xavier’s reach. His
25-yard shot landed in the back of Xavier’s net, giving the keeper no chance at all
to register a 4-1 victory for the host.
Earlier, Ganesh Thapa - the president of FIFA
affiliated All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) inaugurated the tournament, that was
highlighted by a cultural program.
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