GFC’s second game of the season was a goal-fested 6 – 0 victory over the Malaysian Team, with striker Manish helping himself to 4 goals and Pata and Nirakar adding a goal each. GFC had already won both pre-season friendlies against the same team with convincing victories and went into this game with the most confident of moods.

The first goal of the game arrived with Manish striking a superb long range strike which flew past the keeper and into the back of the net. In another sweeping move, Tendu was set free and opted to set up his brother, with the move breaking down as the defence swiftly cleared the ball. As GFC played their casual pressing game causing the opposition to lose possession on countless occasions, chances were created. One such attempt led to Manish being set clear in the right wing, crossing hard for Pata to head the ball straight into goal. 2 – 0 to GFC!!!

All this while, the opposition had settled fairly well and were trying to create moves which our defence handled reasonably well. As they attacked forward, and pushed up further, a cross which was cleared landed perfectly for Manish at the halfway line, who broke away at top speed to roll it past their keeper and make it 3 – 0 to GFC!

The opposition still did not give up however and tried attacking GFC’s goal in all sorts of ways. One such cross evaded our keeper only to hit the upright, before being cleared by our defence. With their attacks constantly repelled and GFC creating great chances of their own, only to be unconverted, the score seemed destined to remain unchanged coming in to half time. However, as GFC once again broke the Malaysian’s attack, Thulo released Manish once again on the halftime, who broke away and calmly rounded up the keeper to score. 4 – 0!! Malaysians protested for offside, but their defence had already crept up past the halfway line rendering their protests invalid.

Onto the second half and with the game all but wrapped up, GFC tried building up their attacks from the back. Although we managed to keep the ball in this play, our players were relatively clueless on how best to utilize the ball to creating chances. However, with more practice in such matches, it can only get better. In any case, opportunities were still begin created, with Thulo missing an open header and Sunil delaying his shot by a fraction of a second.

The opposition were not down and out though, and created a couple of scoring chances which were kept out well by last ditch tackles and strong sturdy play from the defence. Nir and Ashok, our two center backs, were having a relatively easy time, heading and clearing when necessary and basically playing as central defenders should. Rikesh and Dipen were trying to break forward when they could with Thulo covering for them when they did; overall an effective defensive performance from the back four.

Although the rhythm was broken by a few substitutions, Manish still managed to get on the score sheet again. Having been released on the left wing, and with the goalie being attracted to the ball leaving the goal basically unmanned, Manish striker’s instinct took over and he curled the ball into goal from the narrowest of angles. A top goal to say the least! 5 – 0 to GFC!!! Nirakar, who had by this time been pushed up, with Thulo taking his place, tried a well placed shot from outside the box which went past the despairing dive of the keeper to put the icing on the cake. A gem of a goal!! Full time blew shortly after, with the final score at 6 – 0 to GFC.

Overall, a good result for GFC, although the team can play much better than this, with better ball retention and off the ball movement. In any case, the team played a whole lot better than against the Latino team with better passing and converting the chances that came along.  The amount of goals scored was just as good as we try to keep pace with the Thai team, which had been annihilating other teams. The game against them should be a good one!

Gurkhali Ayo!

Hello GFC fans! It has been a while now since we last communicated, close to 2.5 months no less!! In between then and now, GFC has been going about doing their weekly training sessions, with nothing much of note to talk about, hence no spammy e-mails to any of you lot. In any case, with the new season kicking of this past weekend, GFC’s main aim this season is to go two better than last year by topping this season’s league and coming out as eventual champions. As the saying goes, “Aim high or don’t aim at all” (or I might have just made it up!)

GFC kicked off their season, sporting their new jerseys (imported directly from Nepal, no less!!), with an opening day win against one of their arch nemesis, Latin Golden Boys. This was in general a good warm-up game, as only 8 players from the opponent showed up for the first half, by which time, the damage had already been done by the two Sherpa brothers.

Knowing that their opposition was under-staffed, GFC played with much confidence and tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Chances were aplenty for the boys, who just could not get the ball into the net, with GFC dominating possession and the Latin Boys in positional disarray. In one of their forays forward, Manish fired a thunderous shot which flew over the keeper and into the net. 1 – 0 to GFC to settle the nerves. A few minutes later, Tendu curled a beauty of a ball into the top right hand corner, after beating a few of the defenders.  2- 0 to GFC, who seemed to be cruising by now. In between the goals, GFC had a few shots which flew way, way, way too high, with the balls almost reaching the AFL ground next door. All this while the Latin Boys had slowly started to settle down and had made some attacking moves of their own, which were thwarted by staunch defending and a well –placed keeper. They had added a player to their ranks when half time blew.

GFC players seemed rather comfortable with the score and tended to take things a bit more relaxed in the 2^nd half. By this time, the ranks of the opponents had ‘swelled’ to 10 and they played with a bit more flair and purpose, which we knew they were capable of. Their passing and movements which were all sublime, something which you would expect from South American teams, had GFC chasing shadows at times. However, they still did not seem to be able to carve out a decent chance for themselves, with their occasional forays forward dealt with rather comfortably by GFC’s defence. Our goalie, Craig, had only one save to make, with a smart catch from a rather soft header off their striker.

Meanwhile GFC soaked up the pressure of not being able to retain the ball, and with the rare times when we did manage to get hold of the ball and string a few passes together, there were probably one or two too many and goal scoring chances went begging. As it stood, GFC held on to beat their arch nemesis with a 2 – 0 score line.

In Summary

Though the football was not the prettiest, a win is a win and one can only blame the lack of fluidity in our plays to a mixture of this being the first game of the season, under-estimating the opponent due tour numerical superiority and generally the new players getting used to the system of playing for GFC; which leads me to welcome these new guys who were making their debuts in the league for GFC, Tendu, Rikesh, Nirakar, Sanjay and Bikash (???). Welcome you guys, hope you all gel in quickly to GFC’s style of play and start making an impression on your own rights!!  Once again welcome and let’s improve for the next game!!

Gurkhali Ayo!!

2^nd 9-A Side Interstate Football Tournament

Hello fans and family of GFC! It has been a long break since the last posting on the defeat to the Latin Golden Boys in the semis of the South Side League. Since then GFC has been pretty quiet, with players taking a long well deserved break, some holidaying back in Nepal, some having a wild time partying in Brisbane as well as in other states, while others spend the normal weekend league day chillaxing at home.

In any case, I’m here not to tell you what’s about to happen in GFC (that’s for a later date), but what HAPPENED during the last week. GFC took part in the 2^nd 9-A-Side Inter State Football Tournament held in Melbourne organized by Yeti FC and emerged as runners-up to eventual winners Yeti FC. This was a great achievement for GFC, as this was the first time GFC had reached the Finals of any major tournament, usually being stopped at our tracks in the semis. Also, this was a step up from last year, when we finished 2^nd runners up, and if you plot this on a linear curve of destiny (go figure), we should be winners this time next year in Melbourne!!

The day started of in typical Melbourne fashion, with a rather windy morning greeting the players at the organizers’ field, which was not the typical field of organic grass, but a synthetic grass pitch. The teams had already been grouped the previous day and GFC’s group consisted a local Melbourne team in MMC (Manang Marsyagndi Club?) and a team representing Adelaide; which incidentally had 2 former GFC players in Sagar Dai and Prasanna Man Singh.

GFC 0 – 0 MMC

Our team were to kick off against MMC in our first group game. In the early minutes of the match, MMC had plenty of possession as GFC players had a hard time getting used to the synthetic pitch. As the players settled down, so did the players groove on the ball as they started to dominate proceedings in both possession and play. A dominant run by Shintaro, who had joined us ALL the way from Perth, could not be finished off as he took the ball all the way from our D-box into the opposition’s penalty area before inadvertently being caught by a trailing leg of a defender. He did not fall, but the resulting imbalance resulted in him fluffing his shot. GFC’s defence handled every one of MMC’s attack rather comfortably, with Craig, our custodian getting to touch the ball only once throughout the game. Midfield dominated proceedings as well and created numerous chance, but they could not be converted. This was turning out to be a frustrating game which eventually ended in a goalless draw.

With MMC playing Adelaide and coming out 1 – 0 winners, GFC needed to defeat Adelaide by at least two goals to avoid being knocked out of the tournament or having to go through the process of a coin toss to qualify for the knock out stages. The break in the middle provided some entertainment as a pair of teams squared off as a fight broke out with some punches and flying kicks thrown about whilst there was some complaints against the organizers from one of the teams.

GFC 2 – 0 Adelaide
Pata (1)
Shintaro (1)

As the winds started to pick up speed, it seemed to do the same for our boys as well, as they all seemed very much hyped up for their next group match. This time the players settled rather quickly and played the GFC style, with our midfield creating much of the play, but we still could not buy a goal for all it was worth. A free kick, won by Sunil on the right flank, was quickly taken by Thulo and pumped into the opposition’s box. Manish challenged it and flicked it nicely for Pata, who showed impressive composure as he chested the ball and brought it down to finish off in the back of the net with a thunderous volley. 1 – 0 to GFC and we needed another to confirm progression to the next stage!

The second half got off in a similar vein, with GFC dominating both midfield and defence. Our impressive player of the tournament, Shintaro, once again went on one of his driving runs before squaring the ball off to Sunil and continuing into the opposition’s penalty area. Sunil delivered a peach of a cross as Shintaro powered home the second goal that we so thoroughly deserved and required to progress into the next round. Roars of approval were heard around as the players hugged and high-fived one another. 2 – 0 up with two wonderfully created and taken goals, and GFC was cruising through, provided there was no major cock-ups in the final minutes. With the clock ticking down, GFC introduced Manish’s younger brother, Tendhu, who went on to immediately make an impact as he drive forward down the right byline, but could not finish off his wonderful run. Bikram and Sushil came on in the last few minutes as GFC wound down the clock and held on to qualify for the following round!

Gurkha FC 2 – 0 Sagarmatha FC
Shintaro (1)
Tendu (1)

GFC faced SFC in the semis, one of the top teams from Sydney and the team which beat us in the semis the previous year. GFC never really got going as SFC threatened from the start with their teamwork really apparent in their plays. From a freekick, just outside the penalty area, Manish smacked it over the wall, which was touched on to the post by SFC’s keeper, but the ball fell neatly to Shin’s feet and he calmly walked the ball into the net. A lucky break for GFC and 1 – 0 up without really getting into the groove!! For the rest of the half, chances were few and far between the two teams, as they literally cancelled each other out in all areas of the pitch.

Onto the 2^nd half and Sunil had to succumb to his niggling injury and on his place came our youngest player to represent GFC in the tournament, the younger brother of Manish, Tendu. He lit up the stage immediately as his willingness to run at the opposition as well as his enthusiasm provided GFC with an attacking impetus down the right wing. In one of his forays down the line, he showed great strength  and composure as he held of the opposition defenders and finished off deftly into the far post. A great goal by the younger Sherpa and GFC was up 2 – 0 and seemingly cruising!! Subs were made to rest the players for the potential finals as Bikram and Sushil came on for Pata and Upesh respectively. On his first touch, Bikram managed to rattle the crossbar from a couple of yards out when it seemed easier to score. The defence held firm as the boys played confidently to negate SFC and qualify for the FINALS!!

Gurkha FC 0 – 1 Yeti  FC

The boys were in high spirits for the finals and this seemed to be reflected by the weather, as the light rain that had been pouring in the semis cleared up for the sun to takes its stage. After a rather long photo taking session in the centre circle, and singing both the Nepalese and Aussie anthems, the finals kicked off!

GFC never really found their stride, as the long day event took its toll, with the players visibly tired from their earlier efforts. YFC dominated proceedings from the start, never really letting GFC settle down. Possession was wasted on numerous occasions as GFC tried to make a game out of it. The defence kept their marauding attackers at bay and was successful in the first half, with the trio of Dipen, Shin and Thulo launching flying tackles and last ditch clearances to frustrate the opposition. Although we knew that we were being overrun by YFC, the players knew that there was always a chance if a goal was not conceded.

The midfield quarter of Upesh, Pata, Sunil and Amar were as ever, pressing the latter’s ex- teammates, arguing with them and trying their best to create chances for Manish. However, YFC managed to take all these with relative ease and launched attack after attack, breaking through the defence a few times, only to be foiled by one of the defensive trios. In one of their attacks, a chance was created which required a wonderful stop from Craig, diving to his left to stop a goal bound shot.

Second half was more or less played in the same vein, with most of their attacks coming from their left wing, in some instances creating a 2 v 1 situation with the impressive Shin having to help out Thulo more than a few times. With the clock ticking down and GFC repelling YFC’s attacks, a moment of sheer ignorance ended the match for GFC. From one of YFC’s attacks, the ball was passed slipped through into the penalty box and with two of their forwards in the most obvious of offside positions, the linesman chose not to raise his flag. All of GFC’s players stopped anticipating the whistle to be blown. Even the opposition had realized they were offside and stopped play for a few seconds before realizing that the linesman had kept his flag down and continuing play to finish off with the easiest of chances. How GFC players went mad after that could not be reasoned as the players surrounded the referee to protest the goal. In any case the decision stood and it was 1 – 0 to YFC. There was not sufficient time for GFC to launch any serious attack of note as the whistle blew for full time a few minutes later.

Prize Giving

The prize giving was well received, with YFC players winning the Best Player and Top Scorer awards. Best Goalkeeper went to the young custodian from Bhutanese Dragons, whilst the Team Fair Play Award went to the team from Granville, Sydney.

Third place went to Sagarmatha FC, who had beaten United Football Club (UFC) in a penalty shootout as they had played off to an entertaining 1 – 1 draw. Runners up were your team from Brisbane Gurkha FC with Yeti FC taking top honours. Congratulations to YFC for winning the tournament and being such good hosts and organizers! Hope to see you next time!

End Note

Although the players were visibly disappointed with the outcome of a dubious decision, they still stood proud as they had given their heart, soul and body throughout the day for this achievement; to be the 2^nd best Nepalese team in the whole of Australia!! Well done boys!!

GFC would also like to thank all those who supported us in the finals mainly Shailoo, Purna dai, Sagar dai, Prasanna and Ashish who hooted the team all the way to an almost victory. I’m sure they’d have run riot if GFC had actually gone on to beat YFC and taken home the Champions trophy!!

Also a big hearty thanks to all those individuals who donated generously, without whom, it’d have been difficult to cover the costs, let alone reach Melbourne! Many thanks Padam Rai, Rajendra Joshi (Barnes), Gakul Prasad Gurung, Narayan Pokhrel, Rajan Koirala, Kamal Shrestha, Badri Karki, Saroj Bajracharya, Ashoka Shrestha as well as to all the NAQ Members for showing great belief in the team to come up with the goods when we needed the most.

And we should never ever forget the wonderful hospitality shown once again by Amar’s parents for inviting us over to their place for a wonderful BBQ and treating us to the ever popular Nepalese dishes of “daal bhat”, “khashi ko masu”, “karela ko achar” and a coned ice-cream at the end! We had a feast on that day. A big thank you to Uncle, Auntie, Amar’s bhai and Amar!! Getting hungry just thinking of those food!!

Finally, a big and warm thank you to Gurkhas Nepalese Restaurant for providing free dinner for the entire team! We did not manage to thank the owner in person, however we hope that the tips were well received by your staff!! Once again many, many thanks!!

And last, but not least, to all the GFC fans, we knew that we always had your support at heart, consciously or not. It was with this added support that GFC has hopefully made you proud supporters of one of the best Nepalese teams in Australia!! Your support for GFC will always be appreciated! Do keep supporting and come down for some of our games once the season starts. We promise not to disappoint!

To all those reading this now, apologies for the rather long article, but as the saying goes, “Upar Wala jab detha hai, tho chapar fadke detha hai…!”. Hope you enjoyed it and if you have any requests which may be relevant for positng on our website, do not hesitate to use the Contact Form to get in touch with us. Till next time take care and stay well!

Gurkhali Ayo!!

With a tin can in hand, a couple of GFC’s fans, Shailoo and Kumar, went around to raise funds for the victims of the recent Earthquake in Nepal, raising more than $200 in the process. This amount will be sent to Nepal’s Red Cross Society in aiding their earthquake relief program. GFC would like to thank everyone for their enormous generosity!!

We’d also like to thank Suchin and GFC’s very own Kalpana for taking all those wonderful photos on the night. They can be viewed on Facebook at the following locations - Gallery 1 and Gallery 2 . Do view them and tag all those whom you know!!! Also, if you want to get all the details for future upcoming parties in Brizzieee, we recommend you ‘like’ Suchin’s Facebook page, Nepalese Party in Australia.

We at GFC are very pleased that the party passed by with only a couple of minor incidents. As the staff of the venue commented, “You are the most well-behaved party goers that we’ve dealt with” and that “They’d be more than happy to let us book the venue in the future again”. I’m sure most of, if not all, those who attended the evening had a wonderful time and we would welcome any suggestions and feedbacks to make our next event better than this one!! To all those who attended the event, as well as those who helped out on the night, a massive THANK YOU!!

Gurkhali Ayo!

Day 1 (Qualification Round)

Gurkha FC 0 – 2 Saudi Tigers
Gurkha FC suffered their first defeat in a long time after losing 2 – 0 down to the Saudi Tigers in the Asian Uni Games’ first round group match. GFC never really settled down throughout the match as the Saudis with their fluid movements and good team play dominated in the first half.

A quick break down our right flank was finished off superbly by their striker leaving our goalie with no chance. The second goal was controversial as a penalty was conceded from seemingly out of nothing.
Andrew had challenged for a loose 50-50 ball, against one of their players, in our penalty box and had cleared the ball, albeit with a high boot. The referee awarded a penalty for this action. Our protests fell on deaf ears and their striker swiftly dispatched the penalty to the despairing dive of our keeper.

2 – 0 down in half time didn’t help with the players’ confidence and although we played better in the 2^nd half, a lack of finishing as well as the Saudis possession play resulted in GFC losing for the first time in 9 games. Things could only get better as this was definitely not the Gurkhay way of playing footy!!

Gurkha FC 1 – 0 Thailand
(Pata)

In the second match of the group stages, GFC was pitted against the Thai team, whom we have had a couple of friendlies; losing both times. This was a game in which both sides were evenly matched as GFC kept pressing for a goal and the Thai team responding just as well. It was Pata who broke the deadlock with a sweet strike from outside the penalty box which curled into the goalie’s right hand corner. 1 – 0 up to GFC!!! The Thai team replied with a series of attacks which were broken down well by our defence, one of them in particular a thunderous shot which our goalie managed to divert over the bar.

After the second half, the Thai team continued pressing for their equalizer but GFC was equal to the task as well, responding with a number of attacks which just did not seem to end up in the net. GFC had a couple of scares as one of the Thais long range shots was tipped over the bar and another through ball was saved with the outstretched leg of our goalie. The final whistle for the game blew and GFC breathed a sigh of relief as we knew that we had just managed to scrape by for the win.

Gurkha FC 3 – 1 Indonesia
Manish (3)

GFC won the last of their group matches with a 3 – 1 victory over Indonesia. Manish, who’s becoming something of a goal machine, scored a hat-trick ensuring that GFC progressed into the next round of the competition. The assists for the first two goals were provided by Gakul, from a free kick, and Bikram, from a corner, with Manish scoring with his head on both occasions. Manish’s third goal was created by himself as he latched onto a pass and dozed his way to goal. 3 – 0 to GFC within the first half!!

The 2^nd half was played out in a slow mannered fashion as the Indonesians were continually frustrated by GFC’s keep ball tactics. On their one rare occasion which they did threaten, Thulo made a few decent stop but injured his shoulder. He signaled to the referee about his injury, but the referee instead blew for a free kick to the Indonesians in the penalty box; his reasoning was that the keeper held onto the ball for too long. Their player drove the ball past the Gurkhay wall and into the net to make the final score 3 – 1. Not a good way to concede a goal, but a good lesson learnt for the keeper. Throw the ball out in an event of an injury to oneself.

In any case GFC qualified for the next round of competition to be held on the following day. This achievement was blighted by the fact that there were a few injuries suffered on the day, Amar (thigh), Bikram (knee), Shin (nose), Sunil (ankle) and Thulo (shoulder). GFC struggles on.

Day 2 (Round 2 to Finals)

Day 2 of the competition was another group stage competition, with only the top team progressing into the semis. As runners up in our group from the previous day, we had to play against one third placed and another first placed team from another group, these being Hong Kong and Somalia.

Gurkha FC 1 – 0 Hong Kong
(Manish)

Our first game on the 2^nd round was against Hong Kong, who was basically a revamped SkyWind team from the South Side League. They had a number of new players including a trio of gorays. In any case, we still dominated them, but never got close to scoring the number of goals which we did in the league. With Thulo out injured with a shoulder injury, and only available as a limited outfield player, it was left to Saurav to play as a keeper although he had next to naught experience in the position. In any case, Manish finished off the tie with a well taken goal with GFC dominating both halves. Saurav did well enough as keeps with a couple of good catches.

Gurkha FC 1 – 1 Somalia
(Manish)

The second game was a trickier tie with the larger and more physical Somalian side. Manish was the scorer again with the Somalians scoring from a controversial penalty. Everyone agreed that the referee for this game was totally inexperienced and probably biased as he let the Somalians get away with most fouls whilst stopping play whenever any of GFC players committed minor ones. The conceded penalty, although it was a foul, was committed outside the box but since the player landed in the area, the referee deemed it to be a penalty. The Somalian striker duly obliged in putting the ball in the back of the net.

Gurkha FC 1 – 0 Somalia (Replay)
(Manish)

With GFC and Somalia tied for top place, it was decided that a replay would be played to decide who should progress to the semis. The GFC players were really geared up for this, what with a sense of injustice that they felt from the prior game. The game was much more pleasing to watch as well as the players played with more purpose keeping possession of the ball although not creating the chances required. The scorer for this game was once again Manish. With the goal in our pocket, it was left to GFC to play out the game with a sensible play of keep ball and making the opposition run, something which the Somalians did plenty of. In any case, this was a great win for the team and a definite morale booster. GFC progresses to the Semis!

Semi Finals

Gurkha FC 0 – 0 China
(lost 3 – 4 on penalties)

GFC was pitted against China in the semis with the final score being a goalless draw. In between, there was a heated argument with some of the Chinese players which definitely spoilt our players’ tempo and rhythm. That being the case, not many chances were created by either side as both seemed to be evenly matched although the Chinese were the bigger and more physical side. The match eventually ended goalless and thus resulted in the dreaded penalty shootout.

As Saurav had practically no experience, up stepped Shin to take the keepers spot for the shootout. We kicked off the penalty shootout with Gakul, Manish and Pata scoring the first of our three kicks and the Chinese players responding in kind. Our fourth kicker was Shin who had his shot saved by the Chinese stopper; they scored their next. We were 3 – 4 down and we had to score the next one to be in the tie. Amar stepped up and his shot was also save splendidly by the Chinese keeper. With that being that, GFC lost the shootout and were denied a berth in the Finals.

Gurkha FC 0 – 1 Hong Kong United

There was still 3^rd place up for grabs, but with most of the players injured, excessively tired or with other commitments, GFC withered to a 1 – 0 defeat. Nothing to be ashamed of, as even without a full compliment of players, GFC players held their own for sustained periods of time, eventually losing to a fluke goal concede by Ashok, who had stepped in to play as keeper; about time Saurav took a break from the gloves and let his legs do the talking.

Conclusion

Ahhhhh… finally at last, the conclusion for this piece of article.

Firstly apologies for the delay in posting this article and also for not making it as informative as it should have been; the reason being with so many games played on the day, it was difficult to keep track of who did what and what was happening exactly on the pitch.

Secondly, well done GFC players for a tournament well played!!! Although we did not achieve our target of a Finals placing, our eventual placing as the 4^th best team in the tournament was in itself an achievement. And this was done without our full complement of players, mainly out due to injuries.

Lastly, thanks to all the supporters who turned up and stayed for the whole duration of the tournament. Your support is well and truly appreciated. Apologies to some of you who may have returned a bit darker than usual!! You know it was worth it!!

And finally finally… with all the injuries from the tournament, it’s a good thing that we do not have any games this week. So all you fellow players, do have a good rest and get well soon!!

And finally finally… this time for real finally… do come down to GFC’s Pre-Dashain party this Sunday, 25^th of September at the Electric Playground. You know you wouldn’t want to miss it!!

Gurkhali Ayo!!

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!

Next fixture is yet to be confirmed due other tournaments taking place in between the season. Finals are likely to take place in mid October. Stay tuned for updates.

Date: 11th August (Sunday)
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: Mt Gravatt

Please be at the field by 10.30 am!

Gurkha FC 6 – 0 SkyWind FC

There were goals galore in GFC’s 2^nd match with SkyWind FC at the Mt Gravatt Soccer Club which now stretched GFC’s unbeaten run to 7 matches. With the Yeronga ground being under repair for the next 6 weeks (or so), GFC played their first match of the season at the Mt Gravatt Football Ground. With the previous week’s game called off due to bad weather and having beaten SkyWind earlier with a score of four to nothing, the players were in a confident mood as well as having the “khuta chilauni” disease (itchy legs).  The players were all up for this one, that’s for sure!!

As with the first game, it was GFC who dominated the first half throughout, although passes went astray as the team tried to settle into the new ground. Within a few minutes after kickoff, after a neat exchange of passes, Pata released Sunil on the right wing for a one on one situation with the keeper, who deftly slipped it under the despairing keeper. 1 – 0 to GFC within the first ten minutes!! Was it a sign of things to come?

The next incident was one of the most memorable of the match as Dipen, our marauding left back, started one of his overlapping runs into the box. As he received the ball and dribbled his way into the penalty area, he barely avoided a lunging tackle by a defender as he skipped over his foot but lost his footing. Penalty!! There could have been serious consequences had that tackle connected with Dipen. No, no, no, not a broken leg, but an all out fight!! Anyway, everyone willed Dipen to take the penalty which he did, although he looked rather bewildered about the prospect of scoring his FIRST goal for GFC! But he stepped up anyway and really, should have done better as his tame shot was easily parried away by the keeper and the follow up scuffed. Still 1 – 0 up!! No worries Dipen, Just Chill…

A looping ball over the top barely reached our half and Pata, who was in fine form, headed the ball forward for Manish. His first touch however let him down, but he nevertheless gave chase and challenged the follow up ball fairly with the keeper, who was now stranded; Manish stroked the ball calmly into the empty net. 2 – 0 up to GFC!!

A through ball to Thulo by Upesh, sent the right-back on his way but who then blazed it skywards. That’s what happens when you try to get a defender to finish like a striker!! Pramod was being frustrating in front of goal as well as he didn’t shoot when supposed to and shot when was supposed to pass. Ryu was having a great time in goal as the defence, led by Ashok and Shin, lapped up all their attacks; he touched the ball only once in the first half. All in all a well played first half with the players slowly getting to grips with the new ground.

Half time blew and there was nothing much to talk about except the opponents. Seriously guys, they had names such as Batman, Spiderman, He-man, Tommy etc; on the back of their pink coloured jerseys with a sponsor named BubbleGum or something like that.

Anyway, back to the match as the 2^nd half kicked off with Gakul (who had been on the subs bench) taking the field and Raj (aka Josh, aka Barnes, aka Talu, call him what you may) also making his debut for GFC. His first course of action was a dribble down the left flank followed by a great cross which evaded everyone else. Nice entrance in any case.

On the right flank, good interplay between Sunil and Thulo resulted in a throw in. The throw in was trapped neatly by Upesh before releasing a clean pass to Manish, who flat footed the defence with a drop shoulder, before ramming the ball past the keeper. 3 – 0 to GFC and this surely was game set and match!! Or so we thought.

From a seemingly nothing move, Gakul received the ball from the centre of the field, made his way forward and from outside the penalty box, had one look up and tried one of his now-trademark placement shots, which looped over the keeper and into the top right hand corner. 4 – 0 up and this was becoming a stroll in the park for GFC! (I did NOT want to sound arrogant here!)

All this while, Shin who was playing in the heart of defence, had been consistently barraging upfield to get on the score sheet. In his first of many runs into the opposition box, he headed the ball straight into the hands of the keeper, from a corner. In his next foray up, he headed the ball way over the crossbar from a superb cross by Barnes.

Bad luck for our import all this while, but as the Latin saying goes, ‘Nil Sine Labore’ (Nothing Without Hard Work) and this is exactly what he got. From an un-cleared corner, the ball fell nicely to Shin, whose quick feet belied his position as a defender taking him past a couple of defenders before finishing into the corner of the goal. A well deserved goal putting GFC 5 – 0 up!!! Probably had enough by now one would think. Not really.

The last goal was a case of raw power added with a spice of luck. From a free kick, Gakul rolled the ball to Manish, who rammed the ball straight through the keeper’s legs via a deflection off a defender. 6 – 0! Hat-trick for Manish, his second of the tournament and that was surely the last goal of the game! Even the recollection of all the goals was getting this writer into a dizzy state as there were too many to remember! But this was it! Finally, the ref blew for full time. Phew!! What a game!!

Our final match of the season will be against Black Star Roasters and this will be a 6 pointer; i.e. winner takes all, due to ground bookings, referee availability, etc, etc. So with third place still not guaranteed, (look at the league table on Facebook for a clearer understanding on the situation) the final match will be a must win match!! Actually, it’s just so that we can boast about having beaten at least one “khuiray” team. No draws allowed!! Well actually, a draw will seal the third place position and that would be a good overall standing for GFC. But for now, stay prepared and see you in Mt Gravatt.

Gurkhali Ayo!!

Next Match

Gurkha FC vs Blackstar Roasters FC

Date: 11th August (Sunday)
Time: 11.00 am
Venue: Mt Gravatt

Please be at the field by 10.00 am!

Side Notes

On a side note, GFC now has a new page on Facebook, which is being regularly updated. Do join us on our Facebook Page 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, click here. Please approach any of the GFC players to purchase your tickets. This event will surely be a blast!! So do join us!