Sandesh Sigdel, Kathmandu
Kathmandu RayZrs, champions of the previous edition of the Nepal Super League, bounced back with a win after their first loss against Butwal Lumbini FC two days back. Kathmandu dug deep to come back after going a goal down, to win 2-1, thanks to Shokhrukh’s stoppage-time winner.
Kathmandu head coach Bal Gopal Maharjan took a ballsy call, dropping regular goalkeeper Abhisekh Baral for Anzal Shrestha who was not even on the auction list. He was picked later on in the recruitment process but was deemed fit to start ahead of Jiyarat Sheikh, who had put in decent performances with the U-19 National Team.
Pokhara kept Anzal busy through the entirety of the first half. Anzal did well to keep the Pokhara attacks at bay, particularly in the 18th and 24th minutes when he denied Moses Gyabba twice with fairly routine saves.
Suraj Jeu Thakuri, who once was a regular name in the Nepal National Team squad but has not vanished from the ranks, was the one keeping the Kathmandu backline engaged with crosses from the left-hand side of the box in addition to the multiple corner kicks from the same side.
Kathmandu missed a fair bit of chances in the first half with Shokhrukh letting his team down with a back first-touch in the 27th minute while Nkengue Junior failed to head a corner in the 29th minute on target.
Anzal was called into action again in the 34th minute when Moses went past the goalkeeper with a slight touch off his hand and Nia had to clear it from crossing the goal line. Suraj was once again in the mix when his cross with his weaker left foot in the 38th minute was headed to the top of the crossbar by Moses and high.
Kathmandu, who had benched their marquee Hishub Thapaliya to start Khamir Gilshan upfront, made the change in the 40th minute. It’s fair to say this decision from Bal Gopal didn’t convince him to go on with it until half-time.
Anzal was again kept busy at the start of the first half, but he dealt with every occasion with conviction. However, he couldn’t do the same in the 59th minute. He couldn’t get hold of Stephen Annor’s long-range effort and spilled it, there for the taking. Ayush Ghalan pounced on the opportunity to score on the rebound and had a bit of a ‘Griddy’ dance to celebrate his first goal of the campaign.
Moses was having a bit of an off day- he was not playing in front of the goal according to his usual standards. He was put through on goal by Joe Aidoo with eight minutes remaining of regulation time, but Anzal saved his effort, and Nia eventually kept the ball from crossing the goal line again.
In the next minute, Kathmandu came up with an equalizer. Pokhara looked to have gone to sleep as they didn’t see Dipesh Gurung’s pass to Nkengue Junior on the edge of the box. Junior controlled the ball with no one to close in on him and fired his shot towards Priso’s left and succeded in equalizing the scoreline.
The match was far from over as Kathmandu had a winner in them. Their Uzbeki duo combined as a long pass from Tojidinov Komiwon was met by Shokhrukh just outside the box to put it over Priso and into the back of the net to hand his side all three points.
Kathmandu have climbed to second place with eight points from five matches. Pokhara, on the other hand, missed their chance to go top and have slipped to fourth place having racked up eight points as well. Lalitpur currently sit at the top on nine points from as many matches.
Butwal Lumbini FC will take on winless Jhapa FC in Tuesday’s encounter. The match will kick off at 5 PM at the Dasharath Stadium.
