KATHMANDU, Jan 21: Departmental team Armed Police Force (APF) avoided relegation from the Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division Football League holding NIBL Friends Club to a 1-1 draw in its last league match at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Monday while another departmental team Nepal Police Club´s chances of qualifying for the Super Eight round have increased after Nepal Army Club defeated Simrik Saraswati Club 1-0.
Nepali international midfielder Raju Tamang scored the all-important goal for Army, which moved to the second position in the points table for the first time in the league with the victory. [break]
Now either Jawalakhel Club or Madhyapur will be the third and last team to be relegated. Bauddha and Bansbari have already lost their top flight status.
Two minutes after Friends had taken the lead through its African recruit Zikahe Dodoz, APF´s Arjun Subba hit back the equalizer to ensure that his team stays in top-tier football.
Friends Club player. (Photo: Bikash Karki)
The draw left APF unchanged in the 12th position with 16 points, three more than Madhaypur that lies in the relegation zone and one more than 13th-placed Jawalakhel. If both Jawalakhel and Madhyapur win their last matches of the league, the latter will be relegated on the basis of head-to-head record despite having equal 16 points as that of APF.
However, Madhyapur will have the upper hand against Jawalakhel. Champion Police, which lies in the ninth position with 20 points, must beat Jawalakhel to confirm its place in the Super Eight round and finish ahead of eighth-placed Saraswati that has 23 points.
Madhyapur takes on 10th-placed Himalayan Sherpa. If Jawalakhel loses against Police, a draw will be sufficient for Madhyapur to remain in A division. But if Jawalakhel holds Police to a draw, Madhyapur must beat Sherpa to retain its A division status. Meanwhile, a victory or a defeat will not have much impact on Sherpa´s position.
With its seventh draw, Friends also extended its unbeaten run to highest 12 matches in the league and finished the first round in the seventh position with 25 points.
(Photo: Bikash Karki)
In a dull affair, both Friends and APF threatened the opposition only on a couple of occasions. African player Dodoz sprinted a long way with the ball and beat custodian Samit Raj Bhandari in a one-on-one situation to provide a 28th minute lead to Friends.
Arjun Subba of Friends cancelled the lead two minutes later after he unleashed a powerful shot from the edge in Shyam Nepali´s pass. Earlier, custodian Bashir Toyin had made a finger-tip save to deny an attempt by Nepali. A minute later, Top Bahadur Bista´s cross for APF hit the woodwork.
Friends was denied an scoring opportunity in the 79th minute after custodian Samit Rajbhandari denied Dodoz´s shot with a diving save.
Kumar Pradhan, who took charge as the head coach of Friends Club for the first time, opined that his side failed to meet his expectations. Pradhan, who is coaching a top-tier team for the first time, said he will aim for a top three finish during the Super Eight round if the club gives him continuity.
Pradhan has guided the team to five wins and a draw since his appointment. Earlier, he was working as a volunteer coach at the Biratnagar Sports Academy since 2051 BS.
APF coach Janak Singh Tharu was dissatisfied with his side´s result in the league. "We did not get satisfactory result despite our efforts," said Tharu, adding that his side was under pressure to either win or draw the match against Friends to avoid relegation. He also promised to learn from the mistakes and come up with a better performance in the next season of the league.
In the earlier kick-off, Army was lucky to score the winning goal as Tamang´s shot entered the net after taking a deflection off Saraswati defender Michael Nitsefe´s leg.
Bharat Khawas thrice shot wide for the departmental team that created as many as half a dozen chances. Saraswati squandered a chance in the 70th minute when its Tanzanian forward Yona Elias Ndabila hit above the bar in a one-on-one with glovesman Ganga Ram Deuja.
Army leapfrogged four spots up to second with 26 points following the victory. Police coach Yogambar Suwal opined that the three points earned against Saraswati will be vital during the Super Eight round. "Our title hope has increased as we do not have much point difference with the leader." Suwal also claimed that Army has improved tactically and technically after he took over the team.
Meanwhile, Saraswati coach Dhruba KC avoided the post-match conference for the second time in the league. Earlier also he had not attended the post-match conference after his side´s 3-1 defeat against Himalayan Sherpa, for which the disciplinary committee had slapped a one-match touchline ban on him.
Tuesday´s matches
RCT Vs Sankata @ 12:30 NST
Bauddha Vs Bansbari @ 14:30 NST
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