Police defend title unbeaten

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

PRAJWAL OLI

KATHMANDU, June 19: The Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division Football League marred by match fixing controversy came to an end on Saturday with Nepal Police Club defending their title remaining unbeaten.

Continuing with their unbeaten run in the season, Police beat New Road Team (NRT) 2-1 in their last match at the Dasharath Stadium as Jumanu Rai scored for the defending champions in either half.

This is Police´s second league title under coach Birat Krishna Shrestha. They had previously won the title in 2006 after their participation in the league in 2003. Police were undefeated in their first title win too.

With the win, the Police bagged a purse of two million rupees along with trophy, medals and certificates. Playing 22 matches in the double league format, Police wrapped up the season with 50 points winning 14 and drawing eight matches.

Coach Shrestha said that his side was able to win the league due to the hard work and aggressive performance of his energetic players. “We were under pressure ahead of the league as many of our players were injured and our performance was not satisfactory in the beginning. However, we were able to win the league,” said Shrestha.

He also said that the team´s next target will be to win the AFC President´s Cup. “We have won all the titles in the nation including the league and now we will focus ourselves on the President´s Cup,” Shrestha said, adding that he was confident about winning the President´s Cup.

When asked when he will leave Police, Shrestha said, “I have resigned from the Police earlier but they did not allow me to leave and I again took charge of the team. Now I will be associated with them at least till the President´s Cup.”

Police will represent Nepal in the 2011 President´s Cup as the league winners. Police had participated in the President´s Cup for three consecutive years.

Earlier, Nabil Three Star Club defeated NIBL Friends Club 3-2 to secure second position. They finished the season with 43 points winning 12, losing three and drawing seven matches. They were awarded with a cash prize of one million rupees.

NRT with 40 points finished third and received a purse of Rs 500,000. Fourth to sixth placed Nepal Army Club, Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club and G Five Machhindra Club were awarded with a purse of Rs 300, 000, Rs 200,000 and Rs 100,000 respectively. Army also won the fair play award and received Rs 50,000.

Seventh position holders Jawalakhel were awarded with Rs 60,000 while eighth placed Friends received Rs 40,000. Ranipokhari Corner Team and APF finished ninth and tenth.
Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club and Boys Union were relegated in the 12-team contest finishing at the bottom of the table.

In the competitive match, Police striker Rai put up a brilliant performance in the 21st minute dribbling around three defenders and beating NRT goalie Surendra Shrestha to open the scoring.

Ranjit Shrestha of NRT equalized in the 65th minute with a shot from the box. Rai headed home the winner in the last minute of the match in a corner of Parbat Pandey to score his 11th league goal.

Earlier, Shayan Mosavi of NRT squandered a goal scoring chance in the 17th minute when he was denied a one-on-one with goalie Ritesh Thapa.

In a dramatic first match of the day, substitute Nishan Rai scored twice for Three Star while Vijay Gurung added another. Nirajan Khadka and Bharat Khawas netted one each for Friends.

Friends took the lead in the 43rd minute through a 35-yard powerful strike by Khadka to stun goalie Kiran Chemjong. Gurung, substituted in place of Komal Khawas in the 23rd minute, scored to level the match 1-1. But Khawas again restored the lead for Friends in the 52nd minute when goalie Chemjong dropped Pukar Gahatraj´s cross.

Rai again leveled the scoring three minutes later utilizing Vishan Gauchan´s cross. Gurung scored the decider in the 76th minute from close range.

ANFA remained silent despite the the controversy that later stage of the league was dragged into. Position wise best players´ selection also could not be free from controversy after Rohit Chand of Machhindra Club was given the best defender award.

Machhindra were defeated 8-0 in their last match against APF under Chand´s captainship. But Chand´s declaration as best defender had surprised many.

Best players in different positions were awarded with a Yamaha FZS motorbike each.

Best Players

Goalkeeper - Kiran Chemjong (Three Star)
Defender - Rohit Chand (Machhindra)
Midfielder - Parbat Pandey (Police)
Forward - Santosh Sahukhala (Three Star)
Coach - Birat Krishna Shrestha (Police)

Quotes of the best players

Kiran Chemjong: Performance was satisfactory, I am happy to win the award.
Rohit Chand: Though the performance of the team could not be satisfactory, I am happy to receive the award.
Parbat Pandey: Best moment of my football career. I got the award after a long wait and am happy.
Santosh Sahukhala: It is the day that my dream came true.
Birat Krishna Shrestha (coach): Happy for being able to win the title consecutively and for individually being declared the best coach.

Football ancarchy exposed

Source: Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Two matches to go and the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division League is over: champions decided and two teams relegated. Football season is over. That is all what matters for the Nepali football governing body All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

The national league only resumed this year after three years of infighting. The ailing Nepali football, which has not tasted a major international success since winning gold during the sixth SAF Games in 1993, is in the steep decline.

Time and again the infighting has further hampered the domestic football, the base for the development of the game. When both ANFA and the agitating Nepal Football Association/clubs finally decided to put aside their differences and continue with the football activities, it was the players who heaved a sigh of relief.

But what occurred in the league, especially in the later part, has embarrassed the fans and Nepali football in general. Club officials have openly spoken of fixing matches to ensure their stay in the upper division. Boys Union Club coach Kumar Katwal said during a post match conference after their 1-0 loss against Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club that his team had made a match-fixing attempt against G’Five Machhindra Football Club (MFC). “But they (MFC) demanded heavy amount and things did not work,” the coach had said then.

Although BUC, along with Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club, were relegated from the A Division the circumstances under which they were demoted came under severe criticism from several walks of life.

With Sankata already relegated, the survival battle centered between BUC and APF. With just one match left, APF and BUC were tied on 19 points meaning goal difference would have come into effect if both the teams were to win. But what followed prompted one Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club (JYC) fan to express his embarrassment in a social network facebook.com, saying, “I am ashamed to say I live in Jawalakhel. I will definitely switch my rented house elsewhere.” The fan was referring to the BUC’s unlikely 7-1 win over JYC. The big margin BUC victory meant APF now needed to beat Machhindra by at least six-goal margin, which not surprisingly, they did the very next day. APF won 8-0.

While all this was taking place, ANFA were just a mute spectator. Understandably, they could find it difficult to prove the foul play in those matches but what about the open statement made by APF and BUC officials on match-fixing ? Whenever ANFA faced direct or indirect government intervention to check the “so-called atrocities and monopolies” of the football governing body, it always came out clean on the pretext of “FIFA charter.”

National Sports Council or the government was always rendered helpless considering FIFA’s strict resentment over any political interference to one of their elected member associations. The government knew that meddling with FIFA charter meant risking the international ban, which they did not want to take blame on.

If ANFA were the adherer of rule of law and any such charters, will they probe and punish the culprits ? Does FIFA charter allow any team to openly plot match-fixing? If not, why keep mum and not act accordingly. But given the way ANFA functions, one can be certain that everyone will go unpunished considering the platform on which ANFA is build around.

After three years of football stalemate, ANFA gave in to numerous needless demands of the agitators not because they were right but because the football governing body was under tremendous pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and probably from FIFA, to hold domestic football. In the absence of domestic football, Nepal Police Club, who retained the league this season, represented in the AFC President’s Cup thrice.

Defying the regional and world football governing body meant risking annual development grants which had forced ANFA to compromise with the agitators’ demands in reluctance. Under such circumstance and with the clubs repeatedly threatening to pull out of the league, ANFA is very much likely to give the culprits a clean chit for all the foul plays. Even if they happen to punish the guilty, it would at worse be a paltry monetary fine.

At the end of the day, football as a whole will suffer more than an individual, club or the association. If such malpractices persist, Nepali football is certain to remain stagnant.

BUC relegated

Source: Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU, June, 15: Boys Union Club (BUC) became the second team to be relegated from the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division League after Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club registered an unlikely 8-0 victory against G’Five Machhindra Club here today.

Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club were relegated to B Division after they lost 3-0 against Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) on Sunday. APF needed a victory with at least a six-goal margin against Machhindra to survive in the top flight and condemn BUC, who themselves recorded another unlikely 7-1 win over Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club on Sunday, to B Division. It was the first time BUC have been relegated to the second division.

With the result, APF and BUC finished their campaign on 22 points, but the former ensured they stay in the A Division on better goal difference. Machhindra lie sixth with 27 points.

Ganesh Lawati (4th, 6th, 17th) struck a hat-trick, Niraj Shrestha (20th, 44th) scored twice and skipper Kumar Thapa (26th), Top Bahadur Bista (28th) and Deepak Khadka (71st) added one goal each in the departmental team’s resounding victory.

APF Manager Prem Kumar Shrestha thanked his players and coach for the remarkable victory which ensured they remain in the top flight. “It is not that we played poorly this year but we were unable to score goals,”said the manager. Manager Shrestha said that they have learnt a valuable lesson this season and will now try everything at their disposal to raise their standard in the next year.

Earlier in the first match, Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) beat Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) 3-2. TAC (39) finished fourth with the win while RCT (23) stay at ninth. Nepal Police Club have already won the title after accumulating 47 points from 21 matches. With one match to go and tied on 40 points, Nabil Three Star Club and New Road Team are vying for the second place finish.

Hiranya Magar scored a brace after Santosh Nepali added the other for TAC while Dipesh Thapa Magar and Ramesh Shahi replied for RCT.

Sankata bite the dust

Source: ekantipur.com

KATHMANDU, JUN 14 - Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club, one of the oldest football clubs in the country, were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 40 years after fellow strugglers Boys Union Club thrashed Samsung Jawalakhel Club 7-1 in Martyrs’ Memorial ‘A’ Division League on Sunday.

With Sankata relegated, the pressure is now on Boys Union Club and Armed Police Force to fight for their survival.

Though Sankata’s fate was pretty much certain in the previous round itself, today’s 3-0 loss against Manang Marshyangdi Club made their exit from the top flight all but certain. At the completion of the 22nd round Sankata have 17 points.

Established in 1951, Sankata were previously known as Sankata Boys Sports Club till 2001.

In the first seven years of their establishment, the club were a dominant side in knock tournaments in the capital, but it was only in 1958 the club was formally registered in the Nepal Football Association — the football governing body back then — and were promoted to the top flight winning the B division league in their first year of registration in the NFA.

The club were relegated to ‘B’ division for the first time in 1970 but they were back where they belonged the following year by winning the ‘B’ division.

Despite their slump in form in recent years, they were a force to reckon with in the early years especially in the 1974 season, winning the league two times in a row after winning their first title in 1962.

Jawalakhel-Boys Union

Boys Union stepped their survival bid thrashing Jawalakhel 7-0 with a hat-trick from Ramesh Rana and Raju Rai. Rana scored in the ninth, 25th and 37th minute to complete his hat-trick, while Rai found the back of the net in the 31st, 76th and 88th minute to get his second hat-trick of the season. Ramesh Chettri was also on the mark with a 14th minute goal.

Doran Sherchan was the only scorer from Jawalakhel. The win gave Boys Union 22 points from 22 games to reaming at 10th in the standing, but they are nowhere near the comfort zone with Armed Police Force eager to make things right against Machhindra Club in their last match.

Sankata-Manang

Sankata’s hopes of remaining in the top flight were shattered by a hat-trick from Korean recruit Li-Jihon, who scored in the 11th, 52nd and 64th minute.

Sankata Prez resigns

Sankata Club president Indra Man Tuladhar resigned from the post following the club’s relegation. Tuladhar apologised for the club’s dismal run this season. “I am responsible for the club’s performance,” he said. “I will submit all the financial expenditures of the club in the next few days.” Tuladhar was elected as the president in 2008.

Champions Police undefeated in league

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 12: Champions Nepal Police Club remained undefeated in the ongoing Martyrs Memorial Football League and played a goalless draw against Nabil Three Star Club on Saturday at the Dasharath Stadium.

After playing the draw, Three Star moved up to the second spot in the league table. Three Star have 40 points from 21 matches while New Road Team remained in third position with equal points but smaller goal difference than Three Star. Champions Police have 47 points from 21 matches with 13 wins and 8 draws.

Both the teams missed a few scoring opportunities. Police custodian Ritesh Thapa brilliantly saved two powerful shots from Anjan KC and Anil Ojha in the second half. Thapa in the dying minutes saved scoring attempts of Bijay Gurung and Santosh Sahukhala.

Three Star goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong also saved a few good attacks of the Police team. Chemjong denied Bhola Silwal´s attempt early in the first half and Jumanu Rai´s one-on-one chance in the last minute of the first half.

To confirm second position in the league, Three Star have to win against Friends Club in their last match but they will miss their in-form striker Sahukhala. He has been booked twice during the second leg of the ongoing league. NRT will take on Police in the last match of the league.

Three Star coach Balgopal Maharjan congratulated Police for their victory. "Police are dedicated and sincere, we other public clubs lack these qualities," said Maharjan. Maharjan said they were on the field not to lose a point. "We tried to beat them but we were there also not to lose point," said Maharjan.

Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha credited his players for winning the title and wished to finish undefeated in the ongoing league.

Meanwhile, NIBL Friends Club and Ranipokhari Corner Team also played a goalless draw on Saturday.

The lackluster match looked as if both the teams were there neither to create any scoring move nor to score but just to fulfill their match quota.

Coaches of both the clubs claimed the match was goalless as they adopted defensive strategies.

Police clinch title as NRT lose to MMC

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 11: Nepal Police Club defended the title of Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division League Football after second placed New Road Team (NRT) lost 5-3 to Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) on Friday at the Dasharath Stadium.

With two more matches to play Police have added 46 points in their kitty while NRT with only a match in their hand have 40 points. MMC retained their sixth position with 27 points.

This is the second league title for Police after their participation in the league since 2003. Police had earlier won the title in 2006. The league had then been stalled due to internal disputes in domestic football. In their first and second participation in 2003 and 2004, Police were the runners-up and in 2005 they had finished in fourth spot.

On the way to their second consecutive league title, Police have remained undefeated in all 20 matches played so far and will be looking forward to continuing with their undefeated streak in the last two matches.

They have won 13 matches and played seven draws. They have scored 33 goals and conceded seven so far in the current season. They have 27 plus goals in their account which is also the highest goal difference among all the teams in the league.

Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha attributed the victory to the hard work of his team. “We got this achievement due to hard teamwork between players, coach and management,” said the delighted coach. “Now our aim will be to continue with our undefeated run in the next two matches.”

Police will now meet third placed Three Star in their next match on Saturday and take on NRT in their last match on June 19.

“To win the league title is a great achievement. And we achieved this feat without two players of our set-Dipen Shrestha and Yogesh Shrestha. Some of our players were injured during Nepal´s participation is SAFF and SAG football.”

Police will bag a purse of Rs 2 million as the winners.

NRT in need of must win to keep their hope afloat suffered their highest goal margin defeat in the league after Korean striker for MMC Lee Ji Hoon completed his seventh hat-trick of the league. Hoon scored in the 41st, 83rd and in the last minute of stoppage time.

Earlier, Jagjeet Shrestha opened the scoring for MMC through a spot kick in the 10th minute after Ranjit Shreshta handled the ball in the box. The second goal for MMC came through Korean Oh Suchg Hwan in the 29th minute.

Despite conceding an early goal, NRT made a comeback in the 19th minute through Jeevan Sinkeman´s header to level the score at 1-1 through a header and took a 2-1 lead in the 24th minute after Nirajan Rayamajhi chipped over an advancing goalie Bishal Shreshta. However, they conceded three more goals until the final whistle. The third goal for NRT came from substitute Bijay Majhi in the 90th minute.

Jawalakhel beat Machhindra

In the first match, Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club registered a 2-1 victory over G Five Machhindra Club. Jawalakhel were lucky to score the decider in the last minute of added four minutes through penalty. Skipper Raj Kumar KC converted the spot kick after Mahesh Khadka of Machhindra handled the ball inside the box.

Earlier, Bikram Lama had given Jawalakhel the lead in the 31st minute utilizing a rebounder off goalie Raju Nagarkoti. But Karna Limbu scored the equalizer in the 70th minute from close range in a short pass of Amir Shrestha.

Jawalakhel failed to take an early lead in the 15th minute as Raj Kumar Ghising´s spot kick was saved by goalie Nagarkoti.

Boys Union coach Katwal accepts making match-fixing attempt

Source: Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Match-fixing rumours had long been a common phenomenon in Nepali football but for the first time somebody has come up to support the claims.

Surprisingly relegation-threatened Boys Union Club (BUC) coach Kumar Katwal revealed that they had a talk with G’Five Machhindra Club for match fixing. Speaking during the post match press conference after their 1-0 loss against another relegation-battler Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club here at the Dasharath Stadium, Katwal said the talk ended inconclusively after Machhindra demanded a huge amount to throw away the match.

Shrestha said, “We approached Machhindra but they demanded a hefty amount.” The coach also claimed his team had thrown away a match against the same opponent in the previous edition. He also blamed the middle-table clubs were plotting for their team’s downfall.

Meanwhile, BUC assistant manager Murari KC said they will abandon their last match for sure if the organisers — All Nepal Football Association — fail to start the final round matches at the same time. “Our match against JYC and that between APF and Machhindra must kick off at the same time,” said KC suspecting of the yet another match fixing which would result into their team dropping to B Division.

Currently ANFA has scheduled BUC vs JYC match on Sunday and APF vs Machhindra on Monday.

Relegation battle poised as APF beat Boys Union

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 10: The relegation battle in the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division League Football has become interestingly poised after bottom placed Armed Police Force (APF) defeated another relegation candidate Boys Union Club 1-0 on Thursday to climb out of the relegation zone with only a match in hand for both teams.

In another match, another relegation battlers Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club lost 3-1 to fourth placed Nepal Army Club. However, the fate of two teams to be relegated will be decided only after all three teams play their last matches in the 12-team contest.

Following the results, APF moved to 10th position from the bottom with equal 19 points as that of Boys Union who dropped one spot to 11th position. Sankata with 17 points dropped one spot to the bottom of the table. Army retained fourth position with 36 points.

Ganesh Lawati scored the lone goal in the second half in APF´s victory over Boys Union. Lawati made a semi-volley strike from the box in a long pass of Sudeep Shrestha. APF failed to double their scoring in the 84th minute when Lawati failed to score in a one-on-one with goalie Sabin Regmi.

In another match, Sankata despite taking lead in the first-half failed to continue the streak and move out of relegation zone.

Skipper Nirajan Malla had given Sankata a 34th minute lead when defender Daimoj Dhimal failed to clear an easy ball in the box. Malla dribbled past goalie Bikash Malla to score the first goal.

But Army defender Ram Kumar Biswas leveled the scoring in the 57th minute through a header in a cross of Hiranya Magar, and Amrit Basnet added another to make the score 2-1 with a header while glovesman Suman Legal moved ahead to catch the ball.

Chakra Tamang sealed the match in the 76th minute when goalie Legal dropped a long shot of the Army player.

Army manager Mindhoj Khadka said that his side made a comeback in the match due to hard work and discipline.

RCT Punished

The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has imposed a one-year ban on RCT player Binod Shahi from all the official matches of ANFA and the club has been fined Rs 5,000. Binod had manhandled referee inspector Gyani Raja Shrestha during their match against Sankata on Monday.

Official Ram Shrestha of RCT who misbehaved with fourth official Sachin Amatya has been banned from official matches of ANFA for six months. Other officials Shankar Shrestha, Changejlal Shrestha, and coach Baiju Kapali have been barred from sitting in the players´ box in their upcoming two matches.

Another coach Madhu Karki will not be allowed to sit in the players´ box in their upcoming match against Friends Club.

Similarly, New Road Team player Sagar Thapa who provoked the spectators with his unsporting behavior during their match against Three Star has been warned not to repeat such activities.

Shrestha retires from int'l football

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 9: Former national football captain Rakesh Shrestha has taken retirement from international football. Shrestha is the first Nepali footballer to win 50 caps.

Shrestha, the libero of Nepal Police Club, played his last international match against Afghanistan in the group stage of the Sixth SAFF Championship held at Dhaka, Bangladesh five months earlier. During the SAFF he was fielded for the last two minutes to complete his 50th international match.

Shrestha, who carries the record of playing full time in 34 matches following his debut in international football, could not have a memorable exit from the national team.

Despite departing in the status of captain to Bangladesh, Shrestha got chance to play only for two minutes in the entire tournament in the last group match.

Rakesh will formally announce his retirement in the last match of the ongoing domestic league against New Road Team.

However, Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha declared that Rakesh has decided to retire from national football team following his team´s 4-0 victory against Friends Club on Wednesday.

Shrestha started his international footballing career from AFC U-17 held in Birgunj in 1997.

Police Inch Closer To Title; MMC Draw With Jawalakhel

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 9: Defending champions Nepal Police Club inched closer to the title on Wednesday when they clinched an impressive 4-0 victory over NIBL Friends Club to continue with their unbeaten run in the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel A Division League football at the Dasharath Stadium.

In another match, Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) played a 3-3 draw against Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club.

The victory gave Police a six-point lead at the top of the table with two matches to go. Police have accumulated 46 points from 20 matches while New Road Team are in second place with 40 points.

Friends with 24 points dropped two spots to eighth position. Both MMC and Jawalakhel climbed one spot to sixth and seventh position respectively with 24 points apiece.

Jumanu Rai scored twice for Police to take his goal tally to nine after Pankaj Shahi opened the scoring, and Bhola Silwal sealed the match to score his fifth goal against Friends who got limited to 10 men in the 65th minute. Friends skipper Nur Raj Kafle was given marching orders by referee Bikash Mahat after he fouled Rai ahead of the box.

"We have now almost defended the title," said Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha who termed their match against Friends to be vital in course of winning the title.

Shahi gave a touch to Suman Subedi´s header near the goalline that bounced hitting the inner edge of the bar in the 17th minute in a freekick delivered by Parbat Pandey to push Police ahead.

Rai doubled the tally in the 39th minute beating goalie Sagar Gurung in a long pass of Subedi and made a superb header in a corner of Pandey to make the score 3-0 in the 71st minute. Silwal made a one touch strike from the box in a long pass of Dipendra Paudel four minutes later to kill the match.

Police dominated every department of the match against Friends who could make only one post attack during the dying moments. Buddha Chemjong´s powerful long-range shot was brilliantly punched by Police goalie Ritesh Thapa.

Earlier, in the first match Ganesh Khadka scored a brace for MMC in the 43rd and 84th minutes and Shiva Shrestha scored another in the 60th minute.

For Jawalakhel, substitute Laxmi Shrestha opened the scoring in the 49th minute while Suraj Gurung and Raj Kumar Ghising added one each in the 86th and 87th minutes respectively.

Dissatisfied with his side´s performance MMC President Tashi Ghale declared that only three players of his team including skipper Tashi Tsering will be kept in the team in next year´s league.

Boys Union stun Machhindra; AFP thrash Army

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 8: Boys Union Club produced a stunning result on Tuesday to climb out of the relegation zone as they defeated G Five Machhindra Club 1-0 in their 20th league match in the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel ´A´ Division Football League at the Dasharath Stadium.

In another match, bottom placed Armed Police Force (APF) registered a 2-1 victory over another departmental team Nepal Army Club raising slim hope of avoiding relegation.

Following the results, Boys Union moved to 10th position with 19 points with two matches to go, pushing Sankata who have played equal 20 matches to 11th position. Machhindra remained unchanged in fifth position with 27 points.

Despite the victory, APF remained at the bottom of the table with 16 points. Army with 33 points also remained constant in the fourth place.

Raju Rai scored the lone goal through penalty two minutes before the interval for Boys Union to produce a result identical of the first leg. Boys Union were awarded with a spot-kick after Machhindra defender Ram Sharan Magar handled the ball inside the box in an attempt to clear Rai´s strike.

Resham Rana´s powerful shot had hit the pole and Rai had struck it on the rebound. The ball hit Magar´s hand to change the course of the match.

Earlier in the first leg, Shuvam Shrestha had scored the decider against Machhindra to register their first victory of the league. Boys Union have won four among their last six matches and played draws in two matches.

In the competitive match, Boys Union came up with improved performance and enjoyed more ball possession than that of the opponents but could not make many post attempts.

Machhindra, who played without their skipper Rohit Chand as he was booked with a second yellow card in their previous outing, could make only a few remarkable attacks in the entire match. Bishnu KC´s strike for Machhindra was well defended by Amar Limbu from goal line when the goalie was already beaten.

Delighted with the victory, Boys Union coach Kumar Katuwal said his side now has almost avoided the relegation.

Machhindra coach Meghraj KC said his side could not play very well.

In another match of honor between two departmental teams, APF took a 38th minute lead through Ganesh Lawati and got the second goal as a gift from Army defender Ram Kumar Biswas as he directed the ball toward his own post in the 58th minute. Santosh Nepali pulled one back for Army in the 72nd minute.

In the first leg too, APF had defeated Army 2-1 with a goal from Ganesh Lawati and another own goal from Army defender Chun Bahadur Thapa.

In course of scoring the opener, Lawati made a quick powerful attempt from about 25 yards to stun Army goalie Bikash Malla. APF doubled the advantage in the second half after Army defender Biswas hit the ball toward his own post in an effort to clear Top Bahadur Bista´s shot when the goalie was already beaten.

Nepali scored a consolation goal from the box for Army.

APF manager Prem Shrestha said his side´s defense line-up came up with attractive performance and they still have slim hope of avoiding relegation.

Army coach Raju Kaji Shakya expressed dissatisfaction at his side´s performance. “The players don´t have team spirit and now we most probably will have to be content with fourth position.”

Official manhandled

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 7: Fourth official Sachin Amatya was manhandled during the match between RCT and Sankata. RCT substitute player Binod Shahi punched Amatya and official Ram Shrestha misbehaved with him.

As per his duty, Amatya had gone to the RCT player´s box requesting the officials and players to stay on their seats. But RCT officials and players tried to attack him.

The match was disrupted for about ten minutes following the incident in the 72nd minute. Shahi was red carded and Shrestha was sent off by match referee Sudish Pandey after the incident.

RCT coach Madhu Karki alleged fourth official Amatya of talking by pointing finger, which provoked the players, and the officials in the players´ box.

On the other hand, Sankata manager Chandra Man Tuladhar alleged that RCT made unnecessary disturbance in the match. “The break in the middle of the match broke the rhythm of our team. The boys were playing in a great tune but they could not play in their rhythm after the disturbance,” he said.

Three Star give NRT a jolt; Sankata hold RCT

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 7: Second placed New Road Team´s (NRT) title ambition received a major setback on Monday as they were handed a 2-1 defeat by Nabil Three Star Club in the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel ´A´ Division Football League at the Dasharath Stadium.

In the tense first match of the day, relegation battlers Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club held Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) to a 1-1 draw to boost their dream of avoiding relegation.

With the results, both NRT and Three Star remained unchanged in second and third place respectively. Playing equal 20 matches, NRT have 40 points in their kitty and Three Star are a point behind them. Nepal Police Club with a match advantage over both of them occupy the top spot with 43 points.

Sankata retained their 10th position, just above the relegation zone, with 16 points in the 12-team contest and RCT are in ninth place with 22 points.

French midfielder for Three Star Joclyn Morgan gave a lead in the second half and Santosh Sahukhala added another. Substitute Subash Gurung pulled one back for NRT.

In the competitive match, Morgan scored in the 61st minute from the box in a pass set by Anil Ojha utilizing Castory D Mumbara´s corner. Sahukhala doubled the advantage six minutes later from the left flank of the box again in a pass of Ojha.

Gurung, the 56th minute replacement for Rajesh Shahi, netted in the 79th minute with an attempt to bounce back in the match but NRT were short of a goal, as they could not score in the remaining time.

Earlier, Three Star squandered three chances of scoring in the first half but NRT could not make a single post attack. Surendra Tamang´s and Sahukhala´s close range shots were prevented by NRT goalie Surendra Shrestha. In another half too, Tamang failed to convert a one-on-one with the goalie.

NRT came up with a better show during the later stage of the second half and made a few attractive moves but goalie Kiran Chemjong denied them on several occasions. NRT were unlucky on two occasions as the ball hit the bar.

During the dying moments, Shayan Mosavi´s strike rebounded hitting the inner edge of the bar, and earlier Gurung´s 30-yard shot too went wide rolling on the bar.

Three Star Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan said the win gave them a faint hope of returning to the race for the title. “We got chances from the beginning and our boys played well,” Maharjan said.

NRT coach Diken Suwal said his team´s chance of winning the title became dim after the defeat. “The players were unfit as we did not prepare during the break,” said Suwal.

Earlier in the first match, RCT took a 28th minute lead through Yogesh Gurung. Gurung brilliantly beat the goalie from the box utilizing a pass from Uttam Gurung.

Sankata got the equalizer in the 69th minute through a header of Santosh Shrestha. Shrestha headed home in a corner of Rajendra Rawal to score his sixth league goal.

Sankata manager Chandra Man Tuladhar said he was satisfied with his side´s performance. “However, we are not safe from the relegation fear,” Tuladhar added.

RCT coach Madhu Karki said his side conceded the equalizer due to a silly mistake of the goalie. Karki also expressed relegation fear of his team.

Police held by Jawalakhel; Army humiliated

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 6: Sunday was disappointing for the two departmental teams -- Nepal Police Club and Army Club -- in the Martyrs Memorial San Miguel ´A´ Division Football League.

Champions and leaders Police were held to a 1-1 draw by Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club and Nepal Army Club were humiliated 3-1 by NIBL Friends Club at the Dasharath Stadium.

Police, however, continued to remain on the top spot with 43 points, a three-point lead over second place New Road Team (NRT), with three more matches to go. Despite the draw, Jawalakhel dropped one spot to eighth position as Friends, who were in ninth place, leapfrogged to sixth position with 24 points. Army retained fourth place with 33 points.

Police, who had shared points in the first leg playing a 2-2 stalemate with Jawalakhel, took a 29th minute lead over Jawalakhel through a goal from Parbat Pandey. Pandey headed home the opener from the box in a pass of Ramesh Budhathoki, who came up in the role of captain for the first time in the league.

However, Raj Kumar Ghising of Jawalakhel scored an equalizer in the 74th minute. Ghising beat goalie Ritesh Thapa and sent the ball past the net in a pass of Suraj Gurung.

Police dominated the first half of the match and made four post attacks but a heroic display by goalie Min Basnet prevented Police from scoring on several occasions. Skipper Budhathoki squandered goal-scoring opportunities twice. Jawalakhel were unable to make impressive post attacks.

Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha lamented sharing of vital points. He said that his side conceded the equalizer since defenders could not mark opponents properly.

Jawalakhel coach Suman Yonzan said that his side was able to prove their capability by holding the Police to a draw. "We had aimed to win, but I am satisfied with the draw."

In another match, Nirajan Khadka scored a brace for Friends who had defeated Army 1-0 in the first leg. The goals took Khadka´s tally to five in the league. Rajan Adhikari added another goal for Friends. Defender Chun Bahadur Thapa netted the consolation for Army.

Khadka opened the account in the 35th minute through a powerful strike from about 30 yards to stun Army goalie and skipper Bikash Malla. Adhikari doubled the lead in the 54th minute through a header from the box in a cross by Bharat Khawas. Khadka again scored calmly from the box with six minutes remaining controlling a rebound off goalie Malla in a strike made by Adhikari.

Thapa made a superb 35-yard strike to score the only goal for the team. Army made about half a dozen post attacks but many of them were rendered futile by goalie Sagar Gurung.

Following the defeat, Army coach Raju Kaji Shakya said that now his team has moved out of the title race. "The boys failed to utilize chances and there were no good supplies from the midfield," said Shakya.

Friends´ assistant coach Ramesh Maharjan said that they succeeded in their aim of defeating the Army to keep their fight for the top five position alive.

APF allege match-fixing

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

Armed Police Force (APF), who are facing relegation threat, alleged other clubs of plotting against them and fixing matches in the ongoing Martyrs Memorial ´A´ Division Football League.

After their defeat from another relegation threatened Sankata Club, APF team manager Prem Kumar Shrestha, during the post match conference, admitted they have the highest chance of being relegated.

"This was a crucial match. We could not play well and lost the match. The results will help others to plot against us and fulfill their desire to relegate the departmental team," said Shrestha.

"We accept that we are among the weaker teams, but if the league had gone in a fair way we wouldn´t have faced relegation," he said. "Machhindra Club, who stunned top clubs earlier lost to Sankata, and star-packed Three Star played a draw with Boys Union. Everybody can say these are not coincidences," Shrestha claimed.

"Our club was established to help national football and we have been offering national stars to play for our club. We have already signed national players like Nirajan Malla and Noor Raj Kafle. However, we cannot call them to play ´B´ division if we are relegated. So, we´ll not play ´B´ division," threatened Shrestha.

However, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) Secretary-General Dhirendra Pradhan claimed that the organizers are unaware of the charges.

"We have not seen signs of match-fixing. If APF have seen anything we ask them to report to ANFA," said Pradhan. "We are ready to investigate if APF officially report such cases. We are ready to take action against the players and clubs if found guilty," added Pradhan.

Sankata sink APF in relegation battle

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, June 5: Sankata Kathmandu Mall Club snatched a 1-0 victory over Armed Police Force (APF) Club on Saturday in the relegation battle of the ongoing San Miguel Martyrs Memorial ´A´ Division Football League at the Dasharath Stadium.

Sankata skipper Nirajan Malla missed a few chances in the first half hour of the match but Sujal Shrestha gave a lead to Sankata in the 39th minute. As APF defender Narayan Katuwal fouled on Kailash Dangol inside the box, referee Bikash Mahat awarded penalty to Sankata. Shrestha took the opportunity and scored from the spot.

In the second half of the match, APF tried to make a comeback but failed to score. Sankata goalkeeper Deepak Dangol made an acrobatic save to a fierce long range shot of Dinesh Karki in the 69th minute. Likewise, Dangol punched a header of Jeebesh Pandey to the bar and Sudeep Shikhrakar cleared it from the goal line.

After the win, Sankata have 16 points and 10th position from 19 games while APF have 13 points and the bottom position (12th) from equal matches. Boys Union are in 11th position with 16 points from 19 matches.

Likewise, G Five Machhindra Club thrashed Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) 4-0 in the mid-table battle.

Machhindra took the first lead in the 23rd minute from a penalty. MMC defender Pankaj Lama fouled against Manoj Sunuwar and Machhindra got the chance for a spot-kick. Rupesh KC utilized the chance.

Karna Limbu doubled the score in the 31st minute as he scored in a one-on-one situation. Bishal Rai scored the third for Machhindra in the 78th minute through a header from close range and Limbu sealed the match with a score in the 90th minute in another one-versus-one situation.

With the win, Machhindra have 27 points and the fifth position while MMC are in sixth place with 23 points from 19 games.

Machhindra Coach Meghraj KC claimed that his boys kept their cool and produced some killing passes to win the match.