KATHMANDU, Oct 2: New Road Team (NRT) eased past Tushal Youth Club 4-0 in the Martyrs Memorial B Division League football tournament on Tuesday to move atop the standings with only one round of matches left to play.
The win over Tushal has propelled NRT ahead of already promoted Chyasal Youth Club by the virtue of better goal difference despite having equal 25 points. However, NRT is not yet assured of promotion to the A Division as it is yet to play a vital game against Satdobato Youth Club.
Satdobato, standing in the third position, is also in the hunt for the title race as victory over NRT on Tuesday can earn it promotion. Satdobato has 22 points and can secure its place for A division with a win over NRT on the basis of head-to-head record. But a draw or a win will be sufficient for NRT to reclaim place in A division. Meanwhile, Tushal is joint 10th with 13 points.
NRT assistant coach Shyam Mali expressed satisfaction with the victory. "We targeted promotion at the start of the league and I am confident that we will make that possible with a win over Satdobato," Mali said. "We have both experienced and youth players and the victory was the result of our hard effort," said Mali, adding that promotion to A division was his team's priority rather than winning the title.
In the match played on the artificial turf of ANFA ground, NRT opened the scoring as early as in the sixth minute. Sushil Lama achieved the target with his third goal of the season and Ashok Thapa doubled the lead in the 37th minute. Skipper Prabin Kumar Sainju made it 3-0 nine minutes into second half and Pradeep Gurung hammered the final nail in the coffin for Tushal in the 85th minute.
In the second match of the day, Bansbari Club edged past Pulchowk Sports Club 3-1.
Binod Gurung netted as early as in the third minute for Bansbari. Bivek Gurung widened the gap with second goal for Bansbari in the 15th minute. Pulchowk cut the goal deficit with a goal from Kamal Thapa in the 33rd minute but Bansbari restored its two-goal lead in the 37th minute after Binod Gurung netted his second goal of the match.
After the result, Bansbari stands seventh with 17 points and Pulchowk is sixth with 20 points.
Meanwhile, Boys Union and Pulchowk Sports Club who were scheduled to take on Shree Kumari Club in the last two matches will be awarded 3-0 win as Shree Kumari has been suspended by ANFA for two years for its unsporting behavior during its match against NRT.
Chyasal promoted, Samajik demoted
Chyasal Youth Club became the first team to earn promotion to top-tire domestic football on Saturday while Samajik Youth Club was relegated from the Martyrs Memorial B Division League football tournament.
Chyasal's promotion was confirmed after it overcame Ranipokhari Corner Team 2-1 during the penultimate round of the tournament played at the ANFA ground in Satdobato, Lalitpur.
Chyasal Youth Club confirmed promotion to A Division after it overcame a goal deficit to beat Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) 2-1. RCT opened the score in the 16th minute through Bike Gurung but Binod KC leveled the scores during half an hour mark. Madhav Bhandari netted the second goal for Chyasal in the 60th minute which turned out to be the decisive goal and also secured promotion for the Lalitpur-based team.
With only one match remaining, Chyasal has 25 points along with New Road Team (NRT) while Satdobato Youth Club is third with 22 points. NRT, Chysal and Satdobato all have one match to play before the league wraps up.
At the APF ground in Halchowk, Satdobato Youth Club's 2-1 win over Samajik confirmed the latter's relegation from the second-tier football competition. Ripu Balan put Satdobato ahead in the 37th minute and Kailsah Basnet doubled the advantage in the 57th minute.
Yuman Chochhe pulled one back for Samajik in the 89th minute but it was too late.
Samajik became the second and last team to drop from B Division after Mahabir Club.
Samajik has eight points and stands second from the bottom with one match left to play. Its closest opponent Madhyapur has 13 points.
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