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Kathmandu Monday January 07, 2002 Paush 23, 2058.
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Jorpati enter final
Post Report
LALITPUR, Jan 6 :Jorpati defeated Dhapakhel 2-0
on Sunday to meet New Naikap in the final of the Pushpalal Memorial Cup Inter-VDC football
tournament.
The second semifinal of the tournament, played
at ANFA Complex, Satdobato, however, ended in an anti-climax. The match was halted as many
as three times owing to crowd trouble. The Dhapakhel supporters, disappointed by their
team’s subdued performance lashed out on the opposition players.
The trouble sparked two minutes into the second
session when some of the spectators threw stones and mineral water bottles at the ground,
bringing the match to a halt for over three minutes.
The referee, Kailash Shrestha, was forced to
hold the match for another 10 minutes just three minutes after resumption when Jorpati
players Deepak Lama and Binayak Shrestha became target of angry spectators’ fury.
The organisers managed to restart the game
somehow as they brought in more security personnel, who restored calm with a light laathi
charge. But the match came to standstill for the third time when Jorpati scored their
second goal of the match. And there was no more restart this time as Dhapakhel players
left the ground in protest against Nepali international Nirajan Rayamajhi’s goal.
In the 81st minute, Binayak Shrestha, after
tapping a right cross from Ranjeet Lama, released a perfect pass to unmarked Rayamajhi,
who buried his powerful right footer into the net for a 2-0 lead. The ball, propelled with
full-blooded shot, bounced back off the wall behind the net. But Dhapakhel players
surrounded the referee, claiming the ball never went through the post. Referee Shrestha,
after making inspection of the net and consulting with lines-man Om Nath Neupane, decided
in favour of Jorpati.
Dhapakhel players, unpleased with the
referee’s decision, left the ground nine minutes from time. That forced the
organisers to declare Jorpati as the winners.
"Everyone can see that the ball went inside
the net," said Purendra Bikram Lakhe, the tournament coordinator. "So, the
players must respect the sportsmanship spirit."
Earlier, Jorpati took a 1-0 lead through a
penalty in the 24th minute. Dhapakhel defender Anil Shrestha, trying to negotiate a Pradip
Lama corner, handled the ball inside their 18-yard box. The referee pointed to the spot
and Rayamajhi stepped up to convert it into the goal.
Lakhe announced that the tournament’s final
between Jorpati and New Naikap will be played at Dashrath Stadium on Tuesday. |
