20th Budha Subba Gold Cup: Three Stars Club beats Nepal Police Club 1-0 to win

Image Credit:The Ekantipur

Ajayi Martins first-half strike in the additional time of first half(45+5') was enough to separate the two sides in a hotly contested game where tempers were flying in the final on Saturday.

In the closely fought game, both teams went in with a lot of aggression and purpose and Nepal Police Club had a psychological advantage having beaten Three Stars Club a week before in the Aaha-Rara Gold Cup in Pokhara.

Nepal Police Club had some decent changes early into the game as Dinesh Bhandari came close to scoring on 7th minute and Buddha Lama's shot was stopped by a goal-line save by the Three Stars defenders after rounding off the goalkeeper Alan Neupane.

The match from the onset had a very fast tempo as both teams looked to gain space and possession into the game and were physical at times.The match sprang into action when Nepal Police Club's Tej Tamang's heavy tackle on  Bikram Lama send him clattering down resulting in a broken leg for the Three Star Captain, who had to be rushed to the hospital.

The heavy tackle by Tej Tamang resulted in a scuffle and pushing between the players of both teams as tempers were flying on the pitch.The referee Kabin Byanjankar had to give marching orders to Three Star’s Peter Segun and NPC captain Hem Tamang to control the game as both teams were reduced to 10-men by the half an hour mark.

As both teams looked for the elusive goal, Three star's Ajayi Martins fired the first warning as he rattled the Nepal Police woodwork on the 47th minute to be denied by the post.Martin did not have to rue his disappointment for long as moments later he scored from a spectacular 25 yeard shot to give Three Stars a 1-0 lead into the game.

The second half saw odd chances from both teams but none of the teams failed to change the scoreline as Three Stars Club held on to the slender 1-0 lead to win their fifth Budha Subba Gold Cup Title winning six lakh NPR prize money sponsored by Red Bull.

Three Stars Coach Meghraj KC attributed the win to "hard work and ability to play under pressure" of the team while NPC Coach Ananta Thapa said "the team lost balance and shape" after being reduced to 10-men due to a red card to NPC influential player and captain Hem Tamang.

Three Stars midfielder won the highest scorer and the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament award.

Bangladesh to start preparatory camp for SAFF 2018 from February 13,2018

Image Source:BFF

Bangladesh will be hosting the prestigious SAFF Championship 2018  from September 4 to 15 in Dhaka and the hosts determined to put up a good show in front of home fans will be organizing a preparatory residential camp starting February 13, 2018.

In order to field a strong team for the SAFF Championship, the host nations have named 35 players to report to the camp at  BKSP grounds in Savar, Dhaka.

English-Australian coach Andrew Ord has summoned 23 players BFF House in Motijheel on February 13 and remaining nine payers will be joining the residential camp directly at BKSP grounds in Savar, Dhaka.

SAFF Championship is expected to draw huge interest among the local fans as top players from SAFF region will be donning national colours for their respective team.

India has been a strong contender and the most successful team in the competition by lifting the SAFF Championship Trophy five times (1993,1997,1999,2005,2009,2011,2015) along with Nepal who has been emerging as a strong footballing nation in the region winning the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup.

Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka would be the other teams fighting for the glory as Pakistans fate hangs in a balance because of a provisional suspension by FIFA.

Bangladesh Coach Andrew Ord has a task cut out in his hand to select a final squad with the perfect blend of young and experienced players in order to lift the trophy in front of the home crowd.

AFC CUP CONTENDERS PREPARE FOR EXCITING 2018 GROUP STAGE

Qatar's iconic Al Wakrah Stadium to be ready by end of the year: Officials

Qatar has been gearing up for the "Greatest show on earth" World Cup 2022 as officials confirmed Gulf Times that the $575m Al-Wakrah Stadium was on course for completion by the year-end.

The stadium built on the design by Zaha Hadid has a capacity of 40,000 and the cost is estimated to be around $575m for the spectacular venue which located about 15km from Doha city.

Doha based English daily The Peninsula reported, "In such a scenario, Qatar — which is spending almost $500m a week on World Cup projects — will have built almost half of its proposed eight venues with four years still to go to the tournament."

The most complicated part of the project is expected to be the boat-shaped retractable roof and the unique roof structure composed of 1400 pieces is expected to be shipped from Italy.An official expressed his excitement about the roof design and how it expected to add to the stadium atmosphere by retaining the buzz and cheer and this could be the ‘one of the loudest stadiums’ of Qatar 2022.

Thani Al Zarraa, Al Wakrah Stadium’s project manager is hopeful for completion of the project by the year and end will be handed to the officials of the World Cup tournament committee for inspection and hosting of "test matches" possibly few International Friendlies.

The construction of The Khalifa International Stadium was completed last year along with 60,000-seater Al Bayt Stadium is expected to be completed later this year. With  Al Wakrah Stadium well on course for completion, Qatar seems to be getting ready ahead of time for the mega event in 2022.

India U-17 goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh departs for his trial stint with Motherwell FC

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

India U-17 and Indian Arrows goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh who impressed everyone with his valiant show during the U-17 World Cup held in India last year is all set for a trial with Scottish side Motherwell FC.

Dheeraj is expected to depart today (February 7th,2018)  and is expected to wait until July for his trials till he turns 18.

AIFF developmental side Coach Luis de Matos expressed his disappointment on the move and was quoted "a wrong career move instigated by agent".

Matos reiterated the importance of youth development and said that the move for trial with Motherwell FC "wasn't the best decision of his career".

De Matos felt that development by playing I League against senior boys and foreign players with 15-20 games under his belt would have provided him with the necessary experience and confidence before moving out for trial.

The Manipur lad is expected to train at the Fir Park senior team rather than the youth development team over next few weeks and hope to impress the management for any potential transfer happening around July.

India U-17 Goalkeeping Coach Paolo Grilo rates Dheeraj very highly and said scouts from major European clubs and around the world were definitely keeping an eye on the young shot-stopper, without naming the clubs

Grilo quoted to Indian Express “If he returns to the methodology of training in India, then he won’t improve. Dheeraj has the potential to play there (in Europe).”

Dheeraj's arrival for trial to Scotland has been "welcomed" by club spokesman and added, “He will gain fantastic experience working with our goalkeeping coach Craig Hinchcliffe, as well as Trevor Carson and Russell Griffiths.”

Dheeraj trained briefly with former England Goalkeeper David James with ISL side Kerala Blasters before his departure and would be hoping for a stellar show in his training with the senior Motherwell FC team before the all-important trial in July.

Churchill Brothers beats Aizawl FC through Mechac's solitary goal

Koffi Mechac's solitary goal on a 21st minute was the difference between two sides as Churchill Brothers overcame Aizawl FC at Tilak Maidan on Tuesday.

Nicholas Fernandes had the opening chance of the game on2nd minute as he strayed his header wide of the target from a brilliant cross of Harshad Naik.On the other end, Dodoz had a chance for Aizawl FC to test the Churchill keeper but his weak left-footed effort was deflected out for a corner.

The goal came in the 21st minute from brilliant work down the left flank by Nicholas Fernandes as the winger twisted and turned to lose his marker and delivered a perfect low cross to the path of advancing Koffi Mechac who made no mistake slotting it calmly past Aizawl keeper Avilash Paul to give the hosts 1-0 lead.

Churchill lead 1-0 at halftime with both sides not creating enough chances to stamp authority into the game.Churchill had a penalty shout turned down by the referee in the 50th minute as Koffi was allowed to turn in the box and was brought down by the tangling legs of Aizawl's defenders.

On the 68th minute Nicholas Fernandes displayed another brilliant run from his own half playing one-two with Dawda Ceesay to deliver another cross with surgical precision to Koffi Mechac but the striker hit it straight into the hands of Aizawl keeper Avilash Paul.

On 80th-minute Dawda Ceesay was released into an open Aizawl FC half through a long ball from the defence as he found himself in a one-one situation with just Lalrosanga shadowing him to the box. Ceesay was eventually pulled over the edge of the box by Lalrosanga and referee had no hesitation showing a straight red the culprit being the last defender and denying Ceesay a clear goalscoring opportunity.

However, Ceesay failed to capitalize on the freekick from the edge of the box as the powerful left-footed effort missed the target as the final scoreline remained 1-0.

Churchill having won five out of their last six games are now placed 7th on the league table with 16 points after a horrendous start to their league campaign, while Aizawl remains on 6th with same points on account of a better goal difference.

x

Dudu's last gasp header wins all three points for East Bengal

East Bengal had to wait till 93rd-minute to break the deadlock of a resolute Indian Arrows side to bag three points at Barasat stadium on Sunday (04 February 2018)

East Bengal went into the match looking for all three points to be in title contention for the Hero I-League trailing 4 points in the league table from NEROCA FC.

Coach Khalid Jamil started with Dudu Omagbemi and Jobby Justin upfront while Katsumi Yusa and Laldanmawia Ralte on both the flanks while Ansumana Koromah slotted in behind the two strikers in the playmaker's role.

Arrows Coach deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation playing Rahim Ali as a lone striker supported from behind by the attacking trio of Aniket Jadhav, Rahul Balan and Abhijit Sarkar.

Indian Arrows showed compact shape in their playing formation as they stopped any free-flowing football in the attacking third to deny East Bengal creating any build up.

Dudu had a chance to give East Bengal the lead on the 25th minute when Kevin Lobo's cross found the striker within 6 yards box but the ageing striker failed to make proper connection resulting in an easy save for Arrows keeper Prabhsukan Gill.

Having spilt an easy chance earlier, Dudu found himself with space on the edge of the box on the 35th minute but the ball crashed the far post and was cleared by defender Jitender Singh.

Having ended the first half goalless, Khalid Jamil inducted Samad Ali Mullick and  Brandon Vanlalremdika to inject some pace and width to the attack but the resolute Arrows defence showed resolute defending as the young centre-back duo of Anwar Ali and Jitender Singh won most of the aerial battle and interceptions.

East Bengal failed to make use of a couple of dangerous free kicks just outside the box and plenty of corners that Arrows conceded throughout the game.With the clock running down to the additional time and vocal East Bengal fans expressing their disappointment for the Coach and their players, it seemed that match was headed for another disappointing draw.Until a long ball from substitute Rafiq on 93rd minute found Dudu's head and a looping header foxed the advancing goalkeeper Prabsukhan Gill to land at the back of the net to hand East Bengal 1-0 win and three crucial points.

The goal was virtually the last kick off the match as the referee called for full time after the kick off as the young boys from AIFF's developmental side went down fighting against the mighty East Bengal, who are now placed third on the league table with 23 point from 13 games.