Three Star forward Santosh Sahukhala scored a hat-trick against the B Division District League champion while Zikahi Leonce Dodoz, Nirajan Khadka and Yogesh Gurung added a goal each.[break]
Meanwhile, Suman Lama scored the winner 11 minutes before the end of regulation time for McDowell"s Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) to seal a 2-1 win over Armed Police Force (APF) in the second match of the day.
Three Star, which qualified for the final round of AFC President"s Cup two weeks ago, opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the match. Santosh Sahukhala scored from the six-yard box in a cross from Prakash Budhathoki to put his side ahead.
Dodoz doubled the lead in the 42nd minute as he received a cross from Jagjeet Shrestha and beat Deshbhakta"s goalkeeper Gokul Chhantyal to score in an open net.
Three Star had a chance to take a 3-0 lead in the first half but Chhantyal blocked a penalty shot by Sahukhala, who was fouled by DYC defender Ajay Paudel.
However, Sahukhala, who had missed two matches of the AFC President"s Cup Qualifiers due to injury, made up for his missed penalty soon after the interval. Dodoz provided a pass to Sahakhala who scored with a one-touch finish from close range to put his side 3-0 up in the 52nd minute.
Nirajan Khadka made it 4-0 two minutes later as Sahukhala received a pass from Jagjeet Shrestha and set up Khadka for the goal.
Sahukhala completed his hat-trick in the 58th minute after goalkeeper Chhantyal failed to collect a cross from Jagjeet Shrestha. He became the second player to score a hat-trick in the ongoing Gurkha Cup. Karna Limbu of Machhindra Club had earlier scored a hat-trick in his side"s 6-1 victory over Saraswati Youth Club.
Yogesh Gurung added the sixth goal for Three Star three minutes from time.
Three Star coach Pradeep Humagain said it was an easy victory against the lowly opponent but his side"s performance was not satisfactory. ´We could not perform well in the first half though we improved a bit in the second half,´ said Humagain. ´If we want to win the title, we have to forget this performance and improve a lot,´ he added.
´We didn"t get time to prepare as we were invited for the tournament on a short notice. We were not expecting any miracle against Three Star but trying to concede as few goals as possible,´ said Jeet Bahadur Pun, the coach of Deshbhakta Club.
In the second match of the day, RCT"s super-sub Suman Lama scored the winner 11 minutes from time to seal the first win of the season for his side. Lama, who replaced Subin Shrestha in the second half, shot from the edge of the danger zone to stun APF. Roshan Lamichhane, who joined RCT from New Road Team recently, had provided the pass to Lama.
Earlier, Amar Dangol provided a 1-0 lead to RCT in the very first minute of the match with a solo effort.
APF missed a chance to level the scores in the first half as RCT goalkeeper Dileep Chhetri stopped a penalty taken by APF forward Ganesh Lawati in the 38th minute. Referee Laba Khatri awarded the spot kick to APF after RCT defender Dikesh Khadgi fouled Jangbu Sherpa.
However, APF found the equalizer in the 50th minute when Rajendra Rawal scored from close range in Sherpa"s pass.
APF coach Janak Singh said the missed penalty was the turning point of the match and unfortunate for his side.
´As we started preparation only six days earlier, the team is yet to set well. I"m satisfied with today"s result. However, we need to improve fitness level,´ said RCT Coach Madhu Karki.
Sunday"s Matches
Army Vs Sankata @ 14:00 NST
MMC Vs Tusal @ 16:00 NST
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