Nepal’s top club Three Star successfully landed in the roaring cauldron of the 30th All India Governor’s Gold Cup by running past a clueless Border Security Force (BSF) 2-1 in their first outing at the Paljor Stadium.The first steps towards the coveted Cup were firmly planted thanks to a lion hearted display by the junior players of Three Star in today’s victory.
To boost its chances, the Nepal club is calling for more senior legs from Kathmandu for their semi-final clash against a rampaging Tata Football Academy (TFA) on October 23.
As expected, any match involving Nepal clubs fetches a capacity crowd in the 20,000 seater Paljor Stadium and today was no exception. Gangtokians gave up their afternoon to throng the stadium and root for their favourite team.
In the quickest goal of the tournament, Rupesh KC gave the lead to Three Star in the first minute even as the BSF players and the crowds were just settling in. The lanky central midfielder was given all the time and space to glance his header into the far corner of the net from a Pukar Gahatraj free-kick. His goal triggered wild celebrations among the largely partisan crowd and set them in the right mood.
Consisting mostly of under-17 players, the Nepal side were not let down by its junior players who were not afraid to take on the more physically superior BSF players.
Given no space, the BSF team relied on the long balls in order to pass over the faster Nepal players and made its first attempt on the goal in the 35th minute. Avinash Thapa’s looping shot just dropped outside the bar. The first half ended in 1-0 with the scoreline in favour of the Nepal side.
The BSF team came back strongly after the break and was able to break the Nepal defence repeatedly in the first 15 minutes. However, the Nepal side managed to weather the storm and then gradually changed momentum towards the rival’s goal.
BSF winger Banti Singh made a searing run down the right flank against the run of play and side stepped past two defenders before delivering a low cross to Avinash Thapa waiting in the penalty box. Thapa coolly volleyed the cross past the Three Star goalkeeper stunning the crowd.
BSF’s joy was short-lived as five minutes later Three Star defender Sobindra Shrestha curled a free-kick into the net for the winning goal.
Source:Goal.com
