Satdobato stun Manang to take over top place

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 13: A solitary goal from Deepak Raj Singh Thakuri was enough for Satdobato Youth Club to takeover Manang Marsyangdi Club to the top spot of the Martyr’s Memorial A Division League on Wednesday.

A 1-0 win in the evening match at Dasharath Stadium helped Satdobato topple Manang by one point in the league standings. With the victory, Lalitpur’s first-division outfit leapfrogged from fourth position to the top with 16 points from five wins, one draw and two defeats. 

The eight-time league champion Manang's unbeaten 7-match streak came to end as it stays in the second position with 15 points. 

Thakuri scored his sixth goal of the league in the 40th minute, which was enough to give Manang a taste of its first defeat.  Niraj Chaudhary provided the pass and Thakuri dribbled past defenders and found the net in a one-to-one with Manang’s Keeper Deep Karki. 

Sankata Club struggled past New Road Team (NRT) 2-1 to remain in the seventh position. 

In the first match at Dasharath Stadium, the first-half goals from Juinor Nkenjuv and Manish Dangi were enough for Sankata to record its third win of the league. Nicolas Song was the only scorer for the NRT. 

The victory earned Sankata 12 points from three wins, three draws and two defeats. Tribhuwan Army Football Club and Machhindra FC also have 12 points. They sit in fifth and sixth place respectively. 

NRT is struggling to avoid the drop zone as it sits in the 12th position with six points. Nepal Police Club and Friends Club are in the relegation zone in the 13th and 14th positions. 

Junior took the advantage of an uncollected corner ball from NRT Keeper Pujan Hona to put Sankata ahead in the 22nd minute. 

Dangi doubled the advantage in the 37th minute as he collected the through ball off Nelson Konfor and scored with a clinical finish from inside a box. This is the second goal for Dangi with Sankata. 

After the interval, it was NRT that found the goal in the 62nd minute. After substitute Lalunzama’s strike hit the bar, Nicolas smashed the resulting rebound in an empty net to cut the deficit for NRT. 

Elsewhere, Himalayan Sherpa Club outplayed Nepal APF Football Club 5-3 at the Chyasal Stadium, Lalitpur. 

Satyam Sharma scored a brace while Sudip Shrestha, Abayomi Fakunle and Biswash Shrestha found the net in the victory of Himalayan Sherpa.

Armand Beadoum, Sanish Shrestha and Pradip Lama netted one goal apiece for APF. The second win moved Himalayan Sherpa one position above in 10th position with nine points.  APF has 11 points and stays in the eighth position. 

Sudip opened the account for the Mountaineers in the 8th minute. Satyam scored two goals in the space of four minutes to make the score line 3-0. He netted his first in the 24th and second in the 28th minute. 

APF retaliated with Armand’s goal in first-half injury time. APF showed its intent to come back in the match right after the interval as Sanish made the score-line 3-2 in the 46th minute.  Lama cancelled out the Himalayan Sherpa’s lead by scoring the equalizer in the 62nd minute. 

The fight of APF was not enough as Abayomi Fakunle again put Himalayan Sherpa ahead in the 75th minute. An 88th-minute penalty goal from Biswash took the match away from APF.