Nigerian forward Oladipo Olawale O Afeez stole the show with a sensational hat-trick against the team from the eastern part of the country. Sujal Shrestha added other for MMC. Olawale was also named the man-of-the-match.
MMC coach Tsherina Lopsang lauded the effort of his players after the victory. "The hard efforts of the players was rewarded in the match," he said. "Though some players were included in the team for the first time in the tournament, they matched well and had great combination."
According to Lopsang, MMC added Nabin Neupane, Tej Tamang and Sunil BK in the squad after ANFA barred some of the key players of the team citing national team training for the South Asian Games.
Olawale put MMC ahead in the 16th minute when he headed to send Bishwas Shrestha a pass beyond the reach of the goalie.
MMC added three more after the break with the Nigerian doubling the advantage in the 71st minute. He scored in the open net after Jhapa glovesman Shiva Giri was beaten. Sujal made it 3-0 four minutes later from the zone capitalizing on a short pass of Anil Gurung.
MMC ensured the comprehensive victory and Olawale achieved his hat-trick in the sixth minute of the stoppage time converting a pass of Sujal.
MMC dominated the show from the onset and Jhapa also failed to achieve target despite creating few scoring opportunities. MMC goalie Kiran Chemjong denied Ganesh Khadka and Narendra Limbu's scorcher in either half.
Jhapa coach Bhagirath Ale pointed out lack of seriousness and intensity of the team. "Conceding an early goal was not the real reason for the defeat. But they did not coordinate well and put in the effort required to score," Ale lamented.
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