Ranjan Bista scored late on in the second half off the bench as Lalitpur City Football Club held Dhangadhi Football Club to a 1-1 draw at Dasarath Stadium on Thursday.
On a soggy pitch, tensions flared from early on as Lalitpur were denied a goal as referee flagged Anjan Bista for an offside, which was protested heavily by the Lalitpur dugout. Soon after, Croatian Vilim Posinkovic tested opposition skipper Kiran Chemjong on goal. On the 32nd minute, Dinesh Rajbanshi made a goalline clearance to keep the scores level for Dhangadhi.
In the 43rd minute, Lalitpur were awarded a penalty after Kiran raised his hands on Anjan after receiving a cross. Azerbaijan’s Nurlan Novruzov’s weak effort was easily handled by the diving Kiran to his left.
In the 72nd minute, Olawale Afeez scored second match in a row to put Dhangadhi up front. Unmarked Afeez scored the rebound off the corner after goalie Arpan Karki failed to connect the punch. Forward Ranjan then entered into the field and leveled the score. His half volley deflected off Dinesh which left Kiran no chance to make any attempt to save.
Lalitpur despite holding out for a draw are bottom of the table with 2 points. Dhangadhi on the other hand have 4 points from 3 matches and stand second behind Butwal level on points. On Friday, Pokhara Thunders will look to continue their winning streak against Kathmandu RayZRs.
