Three Star custodian Kiran Chemjong, who had earlier converted the fourth spot-kick for his side, emerged the hero of the match as he saved three penalties including the fifth one taken by former Nepali international midfielder Maharjan. [break]
Chemjong had earlier saved the first and third penalties taken by Raj Paudyal and Noor Raj Kafle respectively. Umesh Thapa and Sushil Shah were the only players to score for Jawalakhel in the tie-breaker.
Three Star defender Sabindra Shrestha converted the first penalty but Rabi Thapa and Adewumi Femi missed the second and third to hand Jawalakhel a 2-1 lead after three spot-kicks apiece. Thapa was denied by custodian Bikesh Kutu while Femi fired wide. However, Chemjong and Leonce Dodoz converted the fourth and fifth spot-kicks for Three Star while Jawalakhel players failed to score on both occasions.
Three Star will now meet Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) in the semifinal to be played on Thursday.
The match was taken to penalty shootout after the regulation time and additional half hour ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Earlier, in the regulation and additional time, Three Star looked too strong for Jawalakhel in the Lalitpur derby as it piled immense pressure on the opponent and created about a dozen chances. But the stubborn defense of Jawalakhel, which adopted a defensive strategy from the beginning, some brilliant saves by custodian Kutu prevented star-studded Three Star from scoring.
"We adopted a defensive strategy as Three Star is a strong team and it worked throughout the match. We only failed in the tie-breaker," Three Star coach Raj Kumar KC said at the post-match conference. "The senior players did not follow my instructions," said KC, pointing out that Maharajan and Kafle took their penalties with placement instead of power against his instruction.
"We had practised penalty kicks during yesterday´s (Saturday´s) training session and I had instructed all the players to take shots with power in the tie-breaker," KC said.
"It is difficult to break down a 10-man defense and score," said Three Star coach Pradip Humagain, who attended the post-match conference with bandaged limbs following a motorbike accident in the morning. He also opined that his side failed to play to its potential. "The players were over-confident and took Jawalakhel lightly assuming it weak," Humagain said. "I was hopeful of winning before the tie-breaker began but not in the tie-breaker. However, I was optimistic that Chemjong would stop Pradip Maharjan when he stepped up to take the last shot."
Three Star hit the woodwork twice, first in the 20th minute and then in the 79th. Sabindra Shrestha´s early strike rebounded off the bar while Femi´s shot in Bikram Lama´s pass hit the post.
In the injury time of first half, skipper Santosh Sahukhala´s powerful shot was denied by custodian Kutu and Kafle defended Bijay Gurung´s shot on the rebound. Five minutes into the second half, Shrestha´s strike from close range in Biraj Maharjan´s pass was saved by the goalie.
In the 75th minute, Shrestha´s 25-yard freekick was punched to safety again by the goalie. In the 80th Femi´s free header in Prakash Budathoki´s pass went off the target. In the second minute of additional half hour, custodian Kutu again denied Jagjeet Shrestha´s strike from an acute angle. In the 12th minute of additional time Yogesh Gurung tapped above the bar. Four minutes later Three Star missed another chance when a diving Bikram Lama failed to connect to the ball after goalie Kutu had punched away Anil Gurung´s header.
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