Sankata Club and Three Star Club were dealt massive blow to their title ambitions after the second and third-placed teams of the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League were held to draws making the race further easier for leader Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC). 

Second from bottom Brigade Boys Club (BBC) fought back hard to salvage 1-1 draw against Sankata, while Three Star was held goalless by mid-table Chyasal Youth Club (CYC) at the APF grounds in Halchowk. The outcome puts Sankata, which could have levelled on points with MMC had it won on Saturday, unmoved at the second spot with 25 points. Sankanta now trails MMC by two points with the latter still having a match in hand. A five-point lead looms for MMC provided it beats Nepal Police Club on Sunday. 

Three Star also remained unchanged at third with 23 points and Chyasal is sixth with 14. BBC, which applied brakes on Sankata’s four-match winning streak, seats 12th with six points. “Rather than fighting for the title, we now need to focus on winning our next three fixtures and hope for the best,” Three Star coach Meghraj KC said referring to second place finish. “Losing to MMC itself had already made big difference in our title hopes,” he added. 

In the late fixture, Sankata went ahead in the 13th minute from the penalty spot through Amit Tamang. Sankata was awarded the penalty after its Cameroonian forward Ellon Maxwell was fouled in the area by Tajudeen Adekunle Busari prompting match referee Sudish Pandey to point towards the spot. But a spirited BBC levelled the scores in the 28th minute through Jaya Gurung who unleashed a scorcher from the area after chest controlling Anil Gurung’s pass before firing it past goalie Raja Babu Thapa. 

Three minutes into restart, Sankata was close to regaining the lead but Maxwell swift strike from the edge went straight into goalie Sagar Raya’s hand. It was yet again in a pole position to put an upper hand in the 56th minute when Cameroonian forward Cedric Aba produced a diving header but it hit the upright and Maxwell ended up firing above bar in rebound. In the 73rd, Sankata’s Laxman Ruchal’s header in a Suvash Gurung corner went straight at goalie Raya’s hand. 

Sankata coach Salyan Khadgi said his side took the opponent, which is among the bottom sides, lightly. “We could have got better results had we played with the same spirit of like we did in the second half,” lamented Khagdi who also praised BBC for its solid defending. “Since, we have already achieved our ambitions of top five finish, it doesn’t matter even if we don’t win the title,” said Khadgi. BBC coach Urjan Shrestha was a happy man to snatch point from a top side. “It was an evenly contested affair and the outcome will definitely boost our players for remaining three matches,” he said. 

In an early fixture of the day, Three Star headed into the game without its three influential players in forward Ranjan Bista and midfielder Nirajan Khadka — due to one-match suspension — and injured Sunil Bal. The absence was clearly felt as Chyasal dominated the opening exchanges. Three Star, however, piled pressure in the second half and forced Chyasal goalie Dinesh Thapa Magar for a diving save to deny Anil Gurung’s powerful low drive. In the 71st minute, Messoumbe Abang Albert ended up side-netting from the right flank. 

Chyasal coach Raju Kaji Shakya said that his side failed to utilise scoring chances despite creating them in the first half. Shakya was hopeful of making a top six-finish in the 13-team league. 

Today’s Fixtures

APF Vs Army @ 1100 NST

Police Vs MMC @ 1430 NST

(Venue: Satdobato)