Boys' Union gain first point; JYC hit the bottom

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Mar 6: Boys´ Union Club and Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club, two relegation-threatened teams after the completion of the third round, produced two contrasting results on Saturday in the Martyrs Memorial ´A´ Division League.

Boys´ Union defeated high-flying Machhindra Club 1-0 to gain their first point in the league while Jawalakhel suffered yet another loss to NIBL Friends Club 1-0 in a lackluster match at the Dasharath Stadium.

Machhindra were limited to 10 men for the last 28 minutes. Referee Sudish Pandey sent Machhindra custodian Bishal Magar off as he fouled on Boys´ Union´s Raju Rai just outside the box in a one-versus-one. In a careless back pass of Naresh Pokharel, Rai collected the ball and moved forward but Magar tumbled him down. As Magar was sent off, Machhindra recruited Tirtha Rijal replacing Badal Ghising.

Following the incident, Shuvam Shrestha scored the lone goal of the match to please Machhindra´s newly appointed coach Kumar Katuwal. Shrestha headed the ball into the net in Shekhar Limbu´s corner-kick in the 70th minute of the match.

"I got only two days to look after these boys. They have individual talent but lack coordination. I gave the first instruction to maintain the coordination and they produced the winning result," Boys´ Union coach Katuwal said.

Katuwal claimed to produce winning results hereafter and hoped to finish the league within the top five.

Both the teams could not capitalize some golden chances. Machhindra´s Rohit Chand saved Tanka Basnet´s one-touch shot in Raju Rai´s pass from the goal line in the second minute of the match. Likewise, Shuvam Shrestha´s header in Basnet´s corner-kick was saved by Badal Ghising in the 17th minute.

Boys´ Union´s Sagar Ghimire cleared Karna Limbu´s header from the goal line in the 16th minute of the match. Likewise, Boys´ Union goalkeeper Binaya Shrestha saved Karna Limbu´s shot in a one-on-one situation following Amir Shrestha´s clever pass in the 41st minute.

Boys´ Union moved one spot up from the bottom to the 10th position after their first victory in the league while Machhindra, with 5 points from four matches, are in the sixth position.

"My boys didn´t play the natural game and lost the match," reacted Machhindra´s coach Dhruba KC. "They played better after conceding the goal; that type of game should have been played from the beginning. After three good results, boys became the victims of their own over confidence," said KC.

In the lackluster Lalitpur derby, Buddha Chemjong scored the lone goal of the match for Friends in the sixth minute to give his side their second consecutive victory. Buddha chipped the ball in as he found Jawalakhel´s goalkeeper Ranjit Gurung was not in his position.

Both teams failed to create any noteworthy moves or chances in the remaining period the match.

With the victory, Friends have six points and fifth position from four matches while Jawalakhel remain at the bottom with a point in their account.