Nawayug Shrestha headed home the equalizer in the second minute of four-minute stoppage time to deny Machhindra full three points. [break]Shrestha scored from the right side of the area beating an offside trap after being set up by Santosh Nepali.
Machhindra had earlier taken the lead against the run of play in the injury time of first half through an own goal. Karna Limbu´s feeble cross from the left side of the danger zone rolled into the net taking a deflection off defender Jeetendra Karki´s leg dodging custodian Ganga Ram Deuja.
Soon after Machhindra conceded the equalizer, its skipper Dipak Rai was sent off for a second bookable offense. Rai, earlier booked in the 87th minute, was flashed a second yellow card for arguing with referee Bikash Mahat.
Bharat Khawas (Green) of Nepal Army Club and Amar Subbha of Machindra Football Club. (Photo: Bijay Rai)
"Skipper Rai´s card will be a setback for us in the next match against Friends," Machhindra coach Raju Shakya said.
Leader Three Star benefited the most from the result. After the completion of third round matches of the super league, Three Star holds a five-point lead at the top of the table while Machhindra remained in the fourth place with 31 points. Army moved two spots up to sixth with 29 points. Fifth-place Friends, seventh-place RCT and eighth-place Nepal Police all have 29 points each, but Friends is ahead on the basis of goal difference.
Earlier, Army had lost its last two matches against Friends and MMC respectively, while Machhindra had gone down 1-0 to NRT and defeated RCT 2-1.
Army dominated ball possession and piled immense pressure throughout the match. The team made over half-a-dozen attempts on goal but was rewarded only during the dying moments of the match. Machhindra, on the other hand, could make only a couple of attempts on goal.
Army´s first chance came in the 12th minute, but defender Raj Kumar Biswas volleyed high above the bar from the six-yard box in Raju Tamang´s cross. In the 20th, Tek Bahadur Budhathoki headed wide from the danger zone as he could not connect properly with a cross from Tanka Basnet.
In the 31st, Machhindra custodian Dinesh Thapa Magar made diving saves to foil two simultaneous attempts by Bharat Khawas from the area. Two minutes before the interval, Khawas hit a powerful shot from the area after dribbling past three defenders but was denied by goalie Thapa Magar. In the 74th, tightly-marked Khawas fired above the bar from the penalty spot in Budhathoki´s cross.
Machhindra came close to doubling the advantage in the 68th minute, but striker Bishal Rai A was prevented by custodian Ganga Ram Deuja in a one-on-one situation.
Machhindra coach Shakya expressed satisfaction at his side´s performance. "Draw against a fast and strong team like Army is a satisfactory result," said Shakya, also lauding his players´ efforts.
Army´s assistant coach Babukaji Dhaubanjar said they were unfortunate not to score despite frequent attempts on goal. "The performance was far better than the last two matches and we still have a chance to finish second or third," Dhaubanjar said.
Tuesday´s match
MMC Vs Three Star
Time: 15:30 NST
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