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Kathmandu Wednesday January 16, 2002 Magh 03, 2058.
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Khadka guides Galaxians to
semis
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 15: Ritesh Khadka shone with a
hattrick as Galaxian Club humiliated RCT 5-1 on Tuesday to book their place in the
semifinals of the Birendra Memorial Invitational football tournament.
With the win, Galaxian Club exacted revenge for
their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of RCT in the Birthday Cup last year. RCT, however,
without Nirajan Rayamajhi, Bal Gopal Maharjan and Ramesh Lama in their ranks, looked a
shadow of the side that was crowned the Birthday Cup champions last year.
They showed some flashes of brilliance early in
the first half but without any mark. In the 7th minute, Krishna Malakar wasted a fine
chance from close range while Harihar Thapa went close to scoring twice in the 9th and
36th minutes but failed on both occasions.
While RCT, after squandering early
opportunities, were gradually drained out, Galaxian Club, surged ahead with thrustful
moves. Yet the teams left the field for the half time at 0-0.
The second half witnessed the acceleration of
Galaxian attacks. And they were soon rewarded when Bikash Subba put them 1-0 up in the
56th minute. It was a result of a nice combination between Subba and Suren Tamang.
Tamang, playing the ball upfield centred it to
find unmarked Subba, who wasted no time to unleash a powerful rightfooter which sailed
into the net.
RCT, a goal down, even fared worse as they gave
the opposition attackers too much room inside their 18-yard territory. And their poor
defense let them further down as they searched for an equaliser.
There could not have been any better opportunity
for Galaxians to press forward. Especially, Tamang and Khadka, exploited RCT’s poor
marking and defensive loopholes to add four more goals within 25 minutes.
In the 63rd minute, Khadka making good use of a
Tamang pass, launched a superb shot from a narrow angle, which beat RCT goalie Deelip
Chhetri doubling the Galaxian lead at 2-0.
Eight minutes later, Khadka scored his second
and team’s third when he headed home on a rebound off Tamang’s powerful attempt
that hit the upright.
After a minute, RCT veteran Krishna Malakar
revived some hopes when he pulled one back from 18 yards to reduce the deficit to 3-1.
Khadka-Tamang combination again proved costly
for RCT in the 76th minute. Khadka gave a clinical finish on Tamang’s well-measured
pass to complete his hattrick. That put him level with Nirajan Rayamajhi of Friends’
Club to the top of the goalscoring list with 6 goals in three matches.
And Pravesh Katuwal completed RCT humiliation
ten minutes from time, burying a pile driver from 18 yards for a convincing 5-1 win.
"RCT undermined us and they paid the
price," said the elated Galaxian coach, Amrit Panta. "We will continue our
aggressive brand of football in the semifinal too."
On the other hand, RCT coach Birat Krishna
Shrestha blamed his team’s negligence for the defeat. "Our boys gave them too
much room to operate," Shrestha said. "We also lacked team coordination,"
he added.
Wednesday’s QF (Time: 2 PM)
Mahendra Police Club vs Three Star Club |
