Nepali international Anil scored the winner with just few seconds left in the five-minute stoppage time for MMC at the artificial turf of ANFA Complex, Satdobato.Earlier, Bishal Rai netted twice for MMC after the interval as it came from a goal down to snatch all three points. League's top scorer Karna Limbu and Yogesh Gurung were on target for the district team that played its first match in the artificial turf.
MMC climbed two spots to second with 26 points, one point behind leader Three Star, with three matches to spare before the league concludes. Third placed Tribhuvan Army Club has 24 points with the top three teams having played equal 13 matches.
The result means that the elusive title has come within the sight of MMC with Three Star as the major obstacle. Any of the two teams could take home the champions trophy if they win all three of the remaining matches.
Three Star is scheduled to take on the likes of Jhapa, APF and wraps up its campaign against MMC. Similarly, MMC is yet to play its second leg match against comparatively weaker Morang and Police before facing Three Star.
Meanwhile, the defeat against MMC turned to be big setback for Jhapa which not only missed chance to climb on top of standings but also let the title challenge slip from its grip. Jhapa dropped one spot to fourth with 24 points after playing its 14th match. Now victories in its remaining two matches will not be sufficient for Jhapa to secure top finish as it also needs to wait for the outcome of other matches in its favor.
Elated with the win, MMC coach Raju Kaji Shakya said that his team would now focus on remaining matches. "Now we have strong chances of lifting the championship since we climbed to second position," Shakya said at the post match conference, adding that his team met its target of winning the match. "We still have problem in striking zone and I have been focusing on that part during training."
Shakya's counterpart Bhagirath Ale admitted that his team's hope of winning the title was fading away. He, however, expressed satisfaction with his team's first match at the artificial turf. "It was the first match on artificial turf and the boys had some difficulty in adjusting to the condition," he said.
With only few seconds remaining for the final whistle, Anil beat an advancing Jhapa goalie Dinesh Thapa Magar with a flick header and rolled the ball at the open net to secure the vital points for MMC.
Earlier, Jhapa had taken the lead in the 19th minute through Karna, who improved his goal scoring record to highest 12, three ahead of second-highest scorer Nawayug Shrestha of Army. Karna netted capitalizing on an error of MMC defender Moussa who failed to clear Dinesh Karki's cross inside the danger zone.
Manang adapted offensive style of play after the break and equalized in the 58th minute. Bishal comfortably achieved the target when he controlled Rabi Paswan's cross and directed the ball into the post. Bishal, who was declared the man-of-the-match, made it 2-1 in the 70th after he paired perfectly with Anil, who selflessly set up Bishal to score the goal.
Jhapa equalized in the 82nd minute as Yogesh unleashed a scorcher from 20 yards leaving MMC goalie clueless. MMC, which had also scored the winner in injury time against APF in its last match, did not give up until the dying moments and Anil made sure MMC collected all three points.
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