Sports
Missed penalty costs promoted Chyasal
A missed penalty in the second half turned costly for Chyasal Youth Club as the promoted side were forced to settle for goalless draw in their first match of the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League football tournament at the ANFA Complex on Wednesday.A missed penalty in the second half turned costly for Chyasal Youth Club as the promoted side were forced to settle for goalless draw in their first match of the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League football tournament at the ANFA Complex on Wednesday.
Newboys Chyasal could have sealed the victory in the 75th minute when they were awarded penalty after star forward Bimal Gharti Magar was brought down in the area by defender Anjan Devkota.
But midfielder Hemanta Thapa Magar, who stepped in to take the penalty, was denied by goalie Deep Karki who made perfect anticipation and dived at the right side to deny a feeble shot.
“I was expecting Gharti Magar to take the penalty. But Thapa Magar stepped in to take it and shot it slowly,” said Chyasal coach Raju Kaji Shakya. “The performance was not up to the mark and the players might have taken the opponents lightly.”
“The first match was always going to be tough and the draw has given us a good lesson,” added coach Shakya whose side has set the ambition of winning title. He also lauded Machhindra for executing their plans. “Machhindra played their game well and never looked under any sort of pressure,” he said.
Chyasal, studded with three Nepali internationals in skipper and defender Devendra Tamang, forward Gharti Magar and Thapa Magar, started brightly and intensified attacks from the early periods. They dominated the ball possession and created more than half a dozen chances and smashed the woodwork twice.
In the seventh minute, Bishwa Adhikari’s low ball strike from the area hit the bar following a deflection from defender Bivek Pandit who also cleared Santa Gurung’s left flank strike on goal in the 15th. In the 31st, Chyasal’s Ajit Gurung ended up shooting wide as he attempted to beat goalie Karki in one-on-one situation. Machhindra’s only remarkable strike on goal came in the 35th minute when Ajit’s low shot was parried by goalie Dinesh Thapa Magar.
Chyasal came closer to scoring eight minutes after the resumption when Bimal Gharti Magar’s freekick from 25 yards rattled on the crossbar. They had won the freekick after Sajin Thapa Magar was fouled by Devkota. In the 65th, Sajin ended up with a wayward shot from near the penalty spot before Gharti Magar earned the spot kick, but to no avail.
Chyasal coach Dhaneshwar Prajapati, taking charge of the ‘A’ Division team for the first time, said that his side accomplished the mission of winning a point. “The boys executed the plan and we played as a team. The defense was the base of the result and they defused the opponent’s long ball in the first half. However, our counter-attack strategy was not successful,” said Prajapati.
In a double header on Thursday, Three Star Club will take on Friends Club in the early fixture and Jawalakhel Youth Club will vie against Nepal Police Club.