By a staff reporter
Kathmandu – Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ scored on her debut as her new side Hapoel Ra’anana made a winning start in the new season in Israel.
Ra’anana defeated Hadera FC 2-0 in the second-round matchup of the Athena Cup to progress to the third round of the tournament. Adee Gulden and Samba scored a goal each in the victory for Hapoel.
Gulden gave her side the lead of the match off a pass from Samba. Samba then stepped up to score a goal of her own to round off a win for a young Ra’anana side. Ra’anana also produced a good defensive performance in the win.
The third-round fixture will be played on Monday. However, Hapoel will only kick off their Ligat Al Women, the top-flight campaign, towards the end of August. Eight teams will compete in the league, which will run for almost seven months.
Sabitra switched to the Israeli outfit on a one-year deal after an impressive performance in the title-winning season for Gokulam Kerala FC in India, where she finished as the top goalscorer by a big margin. She will become the first Nepali player to compete in a European league when she features in the league campaign when it kicks off later this month.
