Kathmandu, Apr. 5: Torric Jebrin’s late goal helped FC Chitwan edge Butwal Lumbini 1-0 on Friday, taking them to the top of the Nepal Super League 2025 table.

With back-to-back wins, Chitwan have bagged six points and now hold a two-point lead over defending champions Lalitpur City FC, who sit second with four points. Dhangadhi FC are third with three points from one match.

Butwal Lumbini, after their second straight defeat, remain in sixth place with just one point from three matches. Earlier, they had drawn against Jhapa FC and suffered a loss to Dhangadhi FC.

Chitwan dominated possession but struggled with finishing, as their shots and passes were off target until stoppage time.

In search of a breakthrough, Coach Nabin Neupane made a tactical switch in the 70th minute, replacing foreign goalkeeper Amal Knight with Nepal’s former national keeper Bishal Shrestha to bring on striker Malik Yusuf. Defender Shisir Lekhi made way for Yusuf. Later, Nepal’s top scorer Anjan Bista was substituted for Milan Rai in the 79th minute.

Chitwan launched relentless attacks from both wings and finally broke the deadlock in stoppage time.

Ghanian Torric sealed the win in the 90+2 minute. Initially attempting a pass to Yusuf, the ball deflected off a Butwal defender, landing perfectly for Jebrin, who made no mistake in smashing it into the net.

Earlier in the first half, Butwal had the only shot on target, with Arik Bista’s 25-yard free kick rattling the crossbar in the 40th minute. 

A minute earlier, Chitwan squandered a free-kick opportunity as Nodirbek Mavlonov’s strike went straight into keeper Deep Karki’s gloves.

In the 42nd minute, Victor Mansaray found the back of the net for Chitwan, but the goal was ruled offside.

Butwal suffered an early blow in the 10th minute when Sandeep Karki was injured and was substituted by striker Nirajan Dhami. Shortly after the interval, Butwal almost conceded a goal following a blunder by their keeper, Deep. 

However, Chitwan’s Victor, who intercepted the ball inside the box, delayed his shot, and it ended up hitting the side netting. Victor earned a free kick near the box in the 54th minute, but Nodirbek’s powerful strike was denied by Deep, who stretched to make a fingertip save.

In the 77th minute, Victor came close again, but his edge-of-the-box strike deflected off a Butwal defender.

Butwal’s starting XI included only two foreign players: Kenta Hora and Adam Mitter. Coach Nabin Neupane, on the other hand, retained the same Chitwan lineup that had clinched victory in their opening match.

The two teams have a history of sharing points in past seasons, with 2-2 and 1-1 draws in the first and second seasons, respectively.