In the eastern derby held at the Laxmi Marga ground in Dangihati,, Morang prevented leader Jhapa to move five points clear in the standings. The result left Jhapa with 17 points, three ahead of second placed Three Star Club which has played two matches less.
Leader Jhapa held by Morang, FWFC triumphs
At the ANFA ground, Satdobato, FWFC netted all three goals after the break as it overturned a goal deficit to beat Lumbini FC which was reduced to 10-man in the early second half. Biswas Shrestha was sent off in the 54th minute after he saw yellow twice within two minutes.
FWFC coach Kiran Shrestha expressed satisfaction with his team's performance and opined that the team is slowly gaining its rhythm. "The performance in the first half was poor but the boys did well in the second half," he said.
Earlier, FWFC however, could not make a bright start after Hemanta Thapa Magar wasted spotkick awarded in the 12th minute. Lumbini custodian Dilip Chhetri made an impressive dive at the right to save Hemanta's penalty awarded after Bimal Gharti Magar was fouled inside the danger zone.
Lumbini took the lead in the 25th after Kamal Shrestha and Bishwas paired perfectly. Kamal placed the ball inside the net after exchanging one-to-one passes from the inner edge of the zone while advancing goalie-cum-skipper was already beaten.
Despite ending the first half with a goal deficit, Far Western bounced back after the interval with U-19 sensation Bimal restoring the parity in the 53rd minute through spotkick. Lumbini was punished with the spotkick after defender Kalu Thapa handled the ball inside the zone. A minute later, Lumbini got reduced to 10 men after second booking of Bishwas. FWFC capitalized on the numerical advantage to score six minutes from time. Sudhan Thapa struck at the far post after being fed by Tejendra Pun although the opponent goalkeeper got his hand on the ball.
Dinesh Rajbanshi sealed the victory in the fading moments as he headed Amit Tamang's freekick sending the ball at the far post leaving the goalie clueless.
Lumbini coach Yam Gurung said that they failed to play to their full potential. He also expressed dissatisfaction over the referee's decision for awarding penalty which helped FWFC earn the equalizer. "It was a 50/50 ball and the equalizer through penalty became the turning point of the match," said Gurung.
The second win from nine matches lifted FWFC to sixth position with 10 points while Lumbini remained at the rock bottom with four points from equal number of matches.
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