Army will play the final on Saturday against the winner of the second semifinal to be played between Jhapa XI and Manang Marshyangdi Club on Thursday.
Army secured its final berth with goals from Santosh Tamang and Deep Lama in the added 30 minutes after both the teams remained goalless in the regular 90 minutes.
Santosh broke the deadlock in the 102nd minute to give Army the lead against host Sahara in front of its home crowd. Santosh's shot from nearly 25 yards entered directly into the net. Santosh received the man-of-the-match trophy for his stunning goal.
Deep made sure of Army's victory five minutes later with his powerful shot from almost the same distance.
Deep, a substitute for Bal Krishna Shrestha, converted Santosh's long pass in the 107th minute.
The match was pushed to extra time as both the teams failed to convert the opportunities they created in the regular time.
Sahara failed to take lead in the 45th minute after Uttam Gurung's free-kick from nearly 30 yards was punched away by Army goalkeeper Sushil Shrivastav.
Sahara coach Kiran Shrestha said that replacing Buddha Lama in the 51st minute after he sustained injury was the main reason for their defeat.
“Buddha Lama leaving the ground after he sustained injury was the turning point of the match. We faced problems after Buddha left the ground,” said Shrestha, who added that other players of the team also did not perform up to expectation.
However, he termed the departmental side as a tough team.
“Army is a well-set team and plays in a disciplined way,” he added.
Army also missed goal-scoring chances in the regular time as Hiranya Magar's free-kick from nearly 30 yards was punched by Sahara goalkeeper Binay Shrestha in the 26th minute and Tanka Basnet's shot in the first minute of second half re-bounded after hitting the top bar. Sahara's Shiva Subedi cleared the ball from the goal-line.
Army coach Megharaj KC said that they could not break the deadlock in the regular time as Sahara played a defensive game.
“Sahara adopted the strategy for a draw from the beginning, with five players playing totally in the defensive line. That made it difficult for us to score. The opponent had planned for a tie-breaker, so the match was pushed to extra time,” said KC, adding, “We broke Sahara's defense line in the extra time after which the scenario of the match changed.”
KC said that all the participating teams are tough and the match against Sahara was a competitive one. “The tempo of our game is always the same so we played the same way even after the regular time,” he added.
KC also said that his side will play an improved game in the final.
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