Gurkha FC 5 – 1 BlackStar Roasters
Manish (5)

GFC was at it’s best yet again, as they demolished BlackStar Roasters 5 – 1 in the final game of the Southside League, consolidating 3^rd place in the league’s standings as a result. Due to time constraints, referee availability and ground availability, the last match of the season was played as a winner takes all match; i.e. points and goals counted double!! With this in mind and the potential of beating a ‘khuiray’ team for the first time in the league, our boys were very much up for the challenge.

Things however did not start out as expected as our boys failed to settle down initially, being pressured from the whistle. BlackStar’s long balls was causing problems for GFC, with one in particular, beating the defence and only a last minute intervention on the line from Shin prevented a definite goal. However, a quick break from GFC had Sunil scuttling down the right and his cross was not cleared properly by the opposition, prompting Manish to ram home the first goal of the game! The keeper had no chance to react such was the power of the shot. 1 – 0 to GFC!

The goal, however, only boosted the opposition’s tempo as their long balls were causing a mess of a problem with our backline. One such ball put them on a one on one situation with our keeper, Thulo, who did well to save with his legs. This was followed by another similar situation, but Ashok was on hand to clear the ball off the line. The boys were really showing their determination in not conceding a goal and putting their hearts for the win!

Using the saying of, “Well if you can’t beat them, join them”, Gakul threaded a long ball into the path of Manish, whose neat touch caused some confusion between the defence and their keeper resulting in an easy finish for our striker. 2 – 0 up and GFC was on a roll!

The goal still did not dampen the opposition’s mood however as they continued to ply on the pressure. They were however, limited to shots from outside the box as they failed to break our defence down. One such strike from their striker had Thulo scampering at full stretch, but it barely missed bulging the net by just the post. Another long shot from their midfielder was plucked safely just on the line. Thulo had evidently learned to hold the ball properly probably still remembering the soft goal conceded a couple of weeks back.

At the other end of the field, GFC were not to be outdone as Bikram tried one of his long range shots, which sadly flew over and out of the ground. A great tackle from Shin resulted in him getting the ball and driving forward, before releasing Sunil on the right wing with a through ball. Using his speed, he beat the opposition for pace before putting a sweet ball into the penalty box, only to be missed by players. All it needed was a touch to be put into the back of the net! Great play from GFC nevertheless!

By this time, GFC was on the top of their game and had settled down well enough. A ball down the left was dealt by their defence well enough, but Dipen was showing his ever present determination and chased the lost cause, pressuring them to win a corner. From the resulting corner, Shin headed just wide of the goal. Great play and pressure from GFC!

Half time blew and as seems to be happening regularly, the players were in good spirits, with the usual banter about next to nothing. Good to see such great team spirit, which can only be good for our future games.

The second half started much brightly for GFC as the players settled fully on the Mt Gravatt pitch. Within a couple of minutes of the restart, Upesh had threaded a nice through ball to Manish who chipped the ball over the keeper and into the net. 3 – 0 to GFC!! His second hat trick in as many games!! What a game he was having!

Within a few minutes of scoring his third goal, Manish had the ball in the net again as he powered and dribbled his way into the penalty area before beating the keeper and stroking the ball into an empty net. Following this incident, some of the GFC players got into an argument with the opposition, but luckily no hands were raised and the scene died down after a while. No complaints over this as GFC was on a roll being 4 – 0 up now!!

With GFC settling down nicely after this minor incident, another through ball to Manish beat the opposition’s defence, who all waved for offside; the referee didn’t blow his whistle though. Manish playing on a striker’s stroked the ball past the keeper and made the score 5 – 0!! Still probably frustrated from the earlier argument, Manish celebrated his goal DX style (look it up in on YouTube for those who don’t know what it is about) and got a yellow card for his efforts.

That was the last of GFC goals, although this did not mean that the team did not create any more chances. Sunil was released on the right wing and using his pace, cut into the box, however, he could only blast the ball over the bar. Moments later, Pramod created a chance for himself but he also blasted the ball over the bar.

The common sports adage these days seem to be, “If you are good enough, you are old enough”, and hence a long awaited debut was given for our 14 year old striker Sameer who came on for Manish. He got straight into the thick of things, with his speed, touch and pure determination troubling the opponents much bigger defenders. He even got into a few goal scoring chances but scuffed his shots, although with experience, those will surely end up at the back of the net! In any case, it was a nice debut for Sameer who showed no fear, truly keeping with the Gukhali spirit!

In another sweet move on the left flank, couple of neat one twos on the left released Dipen, who crossed, but resulted in a corner. From the resulting corner, there was a toe stepping incident on Pramod’s foot right in front of the referee. Although the referee warned the offender, the incident was repeated and the referee promptly sent the player off. A tad bit harsh we all thought as it probably only deserved a yellow. In any case we had the advantage, or so we thought.

The players probably went a bit lax after the sending off as long ball into our right defence, beat Amar, and the opposition took one touch and shot which Thulo did well to save. He then released the ball to the left, where the ball was lost to one of their many ‘kalay’ imports. He drove forward and shot from range which flew past our keeper and into the net; Thulo hardly moved, although he could have done much better than NOT MOVING!!

With time running out, BlackStar got more into the game even with a man down. However, GFC held firm and drowned their attacks easily enough. There was even a late chance for Sushil, who had come on as a striker, who did well enough to shoot from range, but did little to trouble their keeper.

Final whistle blew and all the players breathed a sigh of satisfaction having beaten their first ‘khuiray’ team of the season. Good going guys! There are sure to be more such moments in the coming games!!

With this result, GFC consolidated their third place ranking in the league standings, thus qualifying for the quarter-finals of the knockout stages. And this is where the REAL competition starts as the top 4/5 (depending on the final format laid out by the organizers) teams fight it out to be named the best team in the league! The format and fixtures have as of yet to be confirmed by the oragnisers. Stay tuned GFC fans for further news and opponents for the next round of our journey.

Having gone on a now 8 match unbeaten streak, GFC players confidence are on a high as they know this is one of the best chances of gaining their first piece of silverware in their short history. Dates of fixtures and opponents will be displayed as soon as they are released. This is the first time that GFC has secured a place in the knockout phases as well as securing their best ever league finish in the league. So what are you waiting for GFC fans? Get down to the field and support and cheer on YOUR ONLY Nepalese football team in Brisbane as they try and claim their first piece of silverware!

Gurkhali Ayo!

Next Match

There are no next league fixtures this coming week. The team will however be taking part in the Asian Uni Games to be held in Annerley. See previous post for more details on this coming tournament.

Side Post

As was written in the previous match report, GFC now has a new page on Facebook, which is being regularly updated. Do join us and ‘likes’ us. Don’t worry GFC fans, this site will still be kicking alive and regularly updated as well!

On a more important side note, tickets for the “Dashain Ayo 2011” are now on sale. GFC cordially invites everyone for this Pre-Dashain Dance Party of the year right here in Brisbane! For more information on this great event, go to our Facebook page. Please approach any of the GFC players to purchase your tickets. This event will surely be a blast!! So do join us!