Lalitpur, September 30
Laxman Ruchal scored the solitary goal in the injury time as Sankata Club defeated Saraswati Youth Club 1-0 in the Pulsar Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League here at the ANFA Complex grounds today.
At a time when the match was heading towards the goalless draw, Ruchal sealed all three points for Sankata when he found the back of the nets moments before the final whistle. Ruchal slammed home following a cross from Cedric Aba.
With the victory, Sankata became the first team to register victory in the league and claim three points. Tribhuvan Army Club and New Road Team had played a dramatic 2-2 draw in the opening match yesterday.
Meanwhile, NRT lodged the complaint at All Nepal Football Association regarding the biased decisions in the league opening match against TAC. FIFA Referee Sudish Pandey had awarded the TAC with an indirect kick inside the penalty box saying goalkeeper Ajeet Prajapati held the ball for more than six seconds. Santosh Tamang converted the resulting indirect kick following a gentle touch from his teammate Arik Bista to level the scores in the sixth minute of the injury time.
The league, which began yesterday after the gap of more than four years, is postponed after today’s match due to national team’s participation in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup which is beginning tomorrow in Bangladesh.
A total of 14 ‘A’ division clubs are taking part in the league. The champions will receive five million rupees, while runners-up will walk away with Rs 3.5 million. The third-placed team will get Rs 2.5 million, whereas teams finishing from fourth to sixth will receive Rs 1.5 million, Rs 700,000 and Rs 500,000 respectively.
The league, however, does not have the provision of relegation. Instead, ANFA has decided to penalise the bottom two teams with two and one points and deduct preparation money by Rs 300,000 and Rs 200,000 respectively. The ANFA is providing the clubs with two million rupees each as preparation money.
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Written by Sandeep
This news first appeared on https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/ruchals-last-gasp-strike-helps-sankata-pip-saraswati/ under the title “Ruchal’s last-gasp strike helps Sankata pip Saraswati”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
