Chitwan 1-0 Butwal-Lumbini
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
Chitwan FC will now be thinking about playoff chances, but the team's feet must be on the ground. Chitwan won their second consecutive victory in the Nepal Super League (NSL) on Friday. That too with consistently clean seats.
So Chitwan remained in an easy position. Top of the league table with 6 points. On the contrary, Butwal-Lumbini FC is in a weak position. Bootball has only 1 point from 3 matches. The team is second from the bottom.
'After one more win, we will be in the comfort zone,' Chitwan coach Naveen Neupane agreed. The second half went into injury time with no goals scored. Both teams were busy in the middle of the field. Compared to Butwal-Lumbini, Chitwan dominated the game. It was going on, this match will also end in a goalless draw. But Torin Jebarin, who can be considered the best among the foreign players who played Nepali football, had a different plan.
After he scored the only goal of the game in the second minute of injury time, the Chitwan team was extremely happy. The 34-year-old Jebrin, once linked with Portsmouth, headed the ball past the post with a powerful left-footed strike from outside the penalty area. Chitwan goalkeeper Deep Karki had no choice to stop it. "We kept attacking continuously and in the end the decisive goal came out," said coach Neupane while analyzing the game.
He said his focus will be on the rest of the game. His argument was, 'We have to play continuously. So our biggest challenge is keeping the players fit. After today's game, we will have a challenge of how to prepare our players for the next game. We are happy that we got off to a good start in the tournament and we want to maintain it. Chitwan's next match will be played against Jhapa on Sunday.
heavy pressure on Lumbini
The second loss in a row and a tie situation has created a lot of pressure on Butwal-Lumbini. Pressure is natural in such a situation. One point after three games shows the poor performance of the team. However, the way forward is not stopped for us. Our possibilities are not exhausted. Pushpalal Sharma, the Bhutanese coach of Butwal-Lumbini, said, "We are working hard until the last moment in every game." When the referee Umesh Bidari blew the whistle to indicate the end of the game, most of the team's players fell down on the field in frustration, especially the foreign players of the team.
Most of the players' faces were dull and looked full of displeasure. Who can be happy when they lose in football? Everyone's situation will be like this,' added coach Sharma.
He further said, 'What does Manchester City not have? Pep Guardiola as a great coach and equally great players. But even the same team cannot win continuously, their game is also bad. This team is defeated.
Who am I in front of them? I repeat, injured players are the biggest problem for us. Injuries to players have caused us a lot of pain. We were all under pressure from the beginning to perform well, I don't believe that.'
Two happy records
With this victory, Chitwan equaled two happy records. Chitwan has equaled the record of keeping a clean sheet in 4 consecutive games in the tournament which is entering only three seasons. Lalitpur did not concede a goal in four consecutive matches in the first edition.
Chitwan have not conceded a goal in their last two matches of the last edition. Now the team will have an opportunity to make a record for the longest time without scoring a goal in the competition.
This is Chitwan's third win in a row. The team won their last match of the last edition. In this, Chitwan has scored a hat-trick of victories in his 16th game. Earlier, Kathmandu Razors and Lalitpur City also have three wins in a row. When they face Jhapa in the next match, Chitwan will have an opportunity to acquire the record of fourth consecutive win. If Chitwan can do this, it will be almost certain. The team will reach the playoffs.
