NPC wasted a chance to close gap

2014-02-15
Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Three Star Club (TSC) played out a 0-0 draw on Saturday, a result that did more to aid Manang Marshyagdi Club (MMC) hopes of leading the lead in A Division League 2070 super six match. A 2-1 loss from Machhindra FC on Wednesday was compounded by another lackluster display from Three Star Club on today match.

Both the teams had the greater number of opportunities in the match; cops had created the good opportunity during the first half, while Three Star had missed a lot of chances in the second half. NPC started the match in good note and they created 2 golden chances in the early 2 minute. In the very first minute Nir Kumar Rai’s brilliant shot was brilliantly saved by TSC custodian Kiran Chemjong, Chemjong again denied Bharat Shah in the 2nd minute of the match. In the 14th minute Ajit Bhandari crossed the ball from the flank but custodian Kiran Chemjong was smart enough to save the ball easily. The first good attempt came from Three Star in the 24th minute when Santosh Sahukhala attempted Yogesh Gurung’s cross but latter failed to deliver on target. Castory Mumbara gave a thorough pass to Santosh Sahukhala but he failed to control the ball well and Ajit Bhandari of NPC cleared the ball in the 32nd minute. In the 33rd minute NPC almost punished Three Star player Biraj Maharjan for his mistake to clear the ball but Ganesh Khadka of NPC failed to head the ball from free position.

In the second half, Three Star started the match in good note and Jagjeet Shrestha’s corner kick was smartly headed by Smart but his header went inch above the bar. In the 47th minute cops Ganesh Khadka looked ambitious and his ambitious long ranger shot went little above the bar. Three Star got free kick in the 49th minute and Sandip Rai’s beautiful free kick was rightly judged by cops custodian Ritesh Thapa to catch the ball. Bhola Nath Silwal crossed the ball from the flank but Three Star custodian Kiran Chemjong jumped well to save the ball in the 51st minute. Jagjeet Shrestha’s free kick was cleared by cop’s defender Suman Subedi in the 56th minute; Santosh Shahukhala failed to touch the ball in the 58th minute and wasted a good chance to take a lead. NPC custodian Ritesh Thapa was very smart to save Jagjeet Shrestha’s corner kick in the 63rd minute, custodian Thapa committed a blunder in the 66th minute but he hardly saved Jagjeet Shrestha’s kick in the second attempt, Thapa again did his best to save Nirajan Khadka’s low drive from inside the box in the 71st minute. In the 74th minute Jumanu Rai’s acrobatic shot was mistakenly hit on the nose of Three Star defender Sabindra Shrestha. Three Star custodian Kiran Chemjong magnificently saved one vs one shot of Jumanu Rai in the 82nd minute to rescue the team from the loss. Bijaya Dhimal of TSC one touch cross was well saved by custodian Thapa in the 86th minute. In the remaining time both teams failed to deliver to the post. With this draw, NPC is in second with 26 points from fourteen matches and wasted an opportunity to reduce the gap with MMC; meanwhile TSC is in third with 25 points from equal matches.