Jhapa hold Kathmandu to goalless draw

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 5: Jhapa FC held Kathmandu Rayzers to a goalless draw in the Nepal Super League match held on Monday at Dashrath Stadium. 

After settling for their second draw, the defending champions Kathmandu equalled points with second-placed Lalitpur City FC and third-placed Pokhara Thunders, with all three teams now having five points on the table.

In their opening match, Kathmandu defeated Sporting Ilam FC 1-0, and in their second match, they drew 1-1 with FC Chitwan, securing their fourth place in the standings. Jhapa FC, on the other hand, were eying for their first win but had to be satisfied with two draws in a row. With two points, Jhapa FC occupies the eighth spot in the standings.

Jhapa FC lost the first match against Ilam 1-0 and settled for a 1-1 draw against Pokhara Thunders in their last match. 

Unfortunately, Jhapa is currently without their marquee and captain Anjan Bista, who sustained an injury in the match against Pokhara Thunders. 

They also missed Laken Limbu and Dhiraj Thajali. However, Laxman Ruchal wore the captain’s armband for Jhapa, while defending champions Kathmandu also changed their captain, replacing Hisub Thapaliya with Kuldip Karki.

Both teams were toothless in both halves as they failed to materialize their goal-scoring opportunities. 

Kathmandu’s marquee Hisub Thapaliya’s shot was too weak to see the post as Jhapa’s glovesman Stefan Cupic had an easy save in the 14th minute. The referee denied Jhapa a goal in the 28th minute for a foul against Kathmandu’s keeper Abishek Baral. 

In a counter move, striker Jorge Sanchez struck straight into the post, but custodian Baral could not have full control over it and the ball slipped from his hand. In an attempt to take the advantage, Samiraj Thokar brought down Kathmandu’s keeper and the ball rolled inside the net. However, referee did not recognize the goal. Instead he whistled it for a foul. Samiraj’s other attempt in the 35th minute went straight to the gloves of Baral.

Keeper Baral averted the misfortune in the 64th minute with a brilliant save as Jhapa’s Samandar Ochilov’s shot deflected to the post. Four minutes before the regulation time, Kathmandu had another close opportunity wasted as Onguna Junior failed to convert in one-to-one with Keeper Cupic.