Birgunj snatch first win in a dramatic finish

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 14: Birgunj United Football Club Birgunj United Football Club (BUFC) was able to grab its first win of the Nepal Super League (NSL) after a dramatic finish to the match against Sporting Ilam Football Club (SIFC) at Dasharath Stadium on Wednesday.

BUFC won the match after converting a penalty into a goal in the final minutes of the injury time and making the score 2-1. While the first half ended at 1-1, the penalty in the 90+7 minute changed the tide of the game.

Sunil Khadka, who was subbed in the 88th minute, was dribbling the ball outside the 18-yard box in the 94th minute. 

Khadka was blocked by defender Ashish Gurung with a slide. However, Gurung touched the ball with his hand while getting up and it was seen by the match referee from behind. 

The penalty ignited a clash as SIFC players did not accept the decision in the final minutes. SIFC’s captain and goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu was also seen leaving the post for a free hit. Meanwhile, Kuthu stood ahead of the post for a penalty by William Opoku at the end, but could not save it. Opoku was adjudged the player of the match.

The referee ended the match in the 101st minute as the seven-minute injury time was affected by the dispute on the penalty decision. Even after the match, SIFC’s players and staff were seen as unhappy and surrounded the referee for the penalty decision. Kuthu and manager Utsav Shakya of SIFC were punished with a red card for their immoral behaviour.

“We went to today’s match with a winning mentality. It was a do-or-die match for us as we did not have a single win in our first four matches. While we played all of the matches with pure commitment, we were unlucky. We were lucky today,” said BUFC’s captain Deep Karki in the post-match interview.

While the two teams scored a goal each in the first half, both failed to create proper chances in the second half. There were sufficient missed passes, poor clearances and misguided shots in the final 45 minutes. 

The first 45 minutes were far better than the second half. BUFC started by creating an early chance in the very first minute. Opoku got an opportunity to shoot from inside the 18-yard box, but the ball went above the crossbar. 

Amath Ndaw of SIFC was also able to run with the ball inside the 18-yard box in the starting minutes, but he could neither shoot nor cross the ball for others leading to a goal kick.

It was in the 15th minute that SIFC got into the lead with the first goal of the match. Ashish Chapagain was able to capitalise on a miss from BUFC defender Gustavo Djadje Tshamala. He ran with the ball from the right side of the box and shot it to the top far corner for a goal over goalie Deep Karki.

Multiple shots to the goal went above the crossbar for both teams in the next few minutes. SIFC’s Fode Camara also hit a shot above the bar in the 19th minute followed by a volley from Omar Masdaphi Thiam in the 20th minute that was also above the goalpost.

SIFC defender Suroj Basnet also blocked a goal in the 22nd minute. Basnet blocked the shot from Aikins Kyei Baffour over a corner kick. 

The 26th minute of the match saw the medical team taking BUFC’s right back Simanta Thapa outside the pitch on a stretcher after a foul from Camara, who was later booked with a yellow card for the challenge. Diwakar Chaudhary was subbed in after Thapa’s injury.

While SIFC was defending its lead, BUFC scored an equaliser in the 33rd minute. A through pass by Sushil Lama inside the 18-yard box was collected by Bhison Gurung and sent to the back of the net from between the legs of goalie Kuthu.

SIFC’s Ndaw was also booked with a yellow in the 35th minute over a dangerous sliding tackle on Sudip Gurung. SIFC’s players also missed two other chances to get to the lead once again in the final minutes of the first half. 

BUFC, which was at the end of the table with two points from four matches, has now climbed a position with the win against second-last positioned SIFC, which had four points in five matches. 

Now, BUFC is in the eighth position with five points in five matches while SIFC is now in the ninth position with only four points from six matches.