Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag Emerge Victorous, Doon Doom Southern Stars
Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag’s Pasang Tsering lobs the ball to his strikers |
Dharamsala, 7 June: In what turned out to be a spectacular display of sporting spirit, Kathmandu fought back until the last second of the game despite their poor start against Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag yesterday. Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag were speculated as the new favourites this year but this was not to last long as they faced a stunning defeat earlier in the hands of Dharamsala who scored the fastest goal of the tournament so far (1 minute into the game).
A strong hit from the left corner by Pasang Tsering of Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag caught the Kathmandu goalkeeper unawares to score the first goal. Kathmandu which mainly consisted of young teenage players levelled the score as Tashi Dorjee, the striker scored a magnificent goal from outside the box.
Kathmandu could continue to build pressure on the giants but a silly tackle in the box by a defender cost them dearly as the referee without any hesitation pointed towards the penalty spot. Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag once again took the lead. As the game was entering into half time a flip with the toe by Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag’s striker landed the ball right at the corner of the net. They had doubled their lead.
As the match resumed Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag looked all the more determined as they scored two more goals. They were leading by 5 goals to 1 but the young footballers from Kathmandu never seemed to give up. The juveniles fought back and gave a tough time to their opponents. Much to the surprise of the spectators Kathmandu scored three more goals to lessen the lead of Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag. The match was now turning out to be more interesting as pressure began to be built up on the Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag players. The match ended in favour of Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag by a single goal. However it was a perfect example of playing football with a never-give up-spirit.
Southern Stars, after their wonderful performance against the defending champions Pokahara in the opening match, were looked at as a threat to Doon Valley. Though they lacked talented individual players Southern Stars as a team were strong. They held back Doon Valley from scoring, courtesy their goalkeeper who was exceptional and full of reflexes. All shots on goal by Doon Valley were blocked by this young custodian of Southern Stars’ goal.
Though they have several players from the national squad, Doon Valley were just not able to convert their shots into goals. Their luck came to their rescue as the linesman spotted a handball in the box by a Southern Stars defender. Doon Valley were awarded a penalty and Doon Valley’s striker made no mistake in converting it into a goal. The lone goal kept the two teams apart till the end of the game.
In earlier matches, Dharamsala beat Dehradun Dhanglob Rukhag by 3-1 and Doon Valley beat Delhi by 3-2.