Substitute Bishal Rai scored the lone goal three minutes before the end of regulation time for MMC to defeat Three Star after the first leg of 2010 A division league. Since then MMC had not beaten Three Star in their past eight encounters. Three Star had won six and drawn in two of these matches.
The entertaining match saw three players being sent off with two from Three Star and 12 bookings in total. Three Star defender Bishnu Sunwar was sent off three minutes before the interval for double bookings while Jagjeet Shrestha of the same team and Yona Elias Ndabila of MMC were given marching orders by referee Sachin Amatya in the last minute of stoppage time.
Shrestha, who is known for his short-temper, and Tanzanian player Ndabila were sent off for exchanging blows in the tense match. Shrestha deliberately punched Ndabila after the African player elbowed him while vying for the ball. Some of the MMC officials from the players´ box tried to enter playground after the incident. But ANFA officials stopped them.
Three Star coach Pradip Humagain blamed referee Amatya of not being able to control the match. "The referee could not control the match and did not award us penalty after Sagar Thapa touched the ball with his hands," Humagain said, adding that MMC skipper Thapa had touched the ball with his hands in the danger zone.
Along with forward Ndabila, MMC will be without its African defender Azeez Saheed as well in the final against Army on Saturday as he saw second yellow card of the tournament in first half.
Bishal Rai, new signing of MMC from Machhindra and the 80th minute replacement of winger Sujal Shrestha, netted the decisive goal seven minutes after his entry. Rai fired home from the arch in the short pass set by Ndabila off Anil Gurung header leaving Nepali international custodian Chemjong clueless. Gurung was supplied cross by Deepak Rai.
Earlier, MMC dominated the show in first half and created as many as four chances. But surprisingly, Three Star looked strong in the second half and pile up more pressure despite playing with one-man down. Three Star created half a dozen of attractive chances against only a couple of chances by MMC.
In the very second minute, Chemjong made a diving punch to deny Sujal Shrestha freekick from the right flank. Three Star replied in the seventh minute, but MMC custodian Bishal Shrestha, the man-of-the-match, denied skipper Santosh Sahukhala´s close range strike in Leonce Dodoz pass. Three Star failed to make single post charge in the remaining time of first half.
MMC forward Gurung, squandered golden chance in the 19th minute as his free header went far wide in Nabin Neupane cross. In the 39th midfielder Shiva Shrestha fired high above bar from the six yard box in Sujal Shrestha header. In the 45th, defender Saheed shot inches wide from the short distance in freekick taken by Bikram Limbu.
In the 62nd minute, Three Star skipper Sahukhala was denied scoring opportunity by goalie Shrestha in one-on-one situation at the area. In the 74th, goalie Shrestha punched Jagjeet Shrestha´s accurate freekick just from below the crossbar. Two minutes later Prakash Budathoki wasted another chance of taking lead for Three Star firing wide from close range with only goalie Shrestha as his obstacle. In the stoppage time, Dodoz and Saroj Dahal both missed the target wasting chances for equalizer.
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