Little known Bharat Shah and Binod Karki achieved the target for the departmental team as it opened account in the points table. Nirajan Khadka pulled one back for Three Star in the later stage of the match.
With its first win, Police handed the Patan based team its first defeat in the tournament, leapfrogged two spots up to seventh from bottom of the table and prevented latter from restoring its two point lead atop the table. Three Star was left unchanged in the second position with seven points along with Armed Police Force (APF) and Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC), but the latter two have match advantage over Three Star.
Veteran Police coach Birat Krishna Shrestha made some changes in the position of players after failing to yield results in the initial three matches and was successful in his plan. Police's attack was spearheaded by Bharat and Binod changing regular forward and skipper Jumanu Rai as midfielder.
The combination of young strikers worked perfectly with Bharat scoring as early as in the second minute. He made a brilliant strike from 30-yard stunning Three Star's second choice goalie Alan Neupane who has replaced ailing first choice Kiran Chemjong since last match of league.
The other striker Binod double the tally in the 24th when he brilliantly tapped in Yogesh Shrestha left flank cross inside the zone. Police could have made it 3-0, three minutes before the interval but skipper Jumanu chipped inches above bar in one-on-one situation with glovesman Alan.
"Though the performance was not up to mark, we got early goals which turned the match. However, the extent of miss-passes has decreased," Police coach Shrestha said at the post match conference. "The change we applied in few positions were also successful to some extent. The result shall boost the confidence of the players."
Star studded Three Star faced consistence pressure in the first half and failed to create single attractive chance. But the Patan based side resorted to offensive style after the break and played with three strikers in place of two.
Three Star created as many as three chances and was unlucky in the 58th when Prakash Budathoki, second half replacement of Bishnu Sunwar, saw his one touch strike rebound off the upright. A minute earlier, Police goalie Ritesh Rijal made a long stretch dive to deny Prakash's 30-yard freekick on goal.
Nirajan gave some hope to Three Star nine minutes from time when he headed Prakash's corner to cut the goal deficit. But it was too late.
"The score we achieved was too late. We could have make comeback had we achieved early scoring," Three Star's coach Anjan KC lamented. "We could play only after the break while the opponent played disciplined game in compact style."
Today's Match
MMC Vs Three Star @ 15:30 NST
Venue: Dasharath Stadium
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