Sabindra Shrestha, Buddha Chemjong and Bikram Lama scored one apiece for Three Star which had lifted titles in the seventh, ninth and eleventh edition of the tournament. Three Star will now play against the winner of Himalayan Sherpa Club and Hong Kong Nepalese Football Team in the semifinal on Thursday.[break]
Adopting attacking strategy, Three Star took the driving seat early in the fourth minute against African United consisting of all African players. The man-of-the-match adjudged Shrestha lashed a powerful shot from 25-yard in an acute pass of Sabindra Shrestha who controlled corner taken by Anil Ojha and took his time before setting it for Shrestha.
Chemjong doubled the advantage in the 76th minute after he got a ball punched by African United´s custodian off Sahukhala´s strike. Lama sealed the victory in the stoppage time from the area in a one-touch pass of Sahukhala. African United were reduced to 10-man during the stoppage time, before conceding last goal as Kolouli Tasin was slapped a straight yellow card for playing foul against Asim Jung Karki.
Despite having physical advantage African United looked helpless and came under consistent pressure from the beginning. Three Star created about a dozen of scoring chances but failed to utilize them. Sahukhala missed about half a dozen scoring chances while Chemjong and Shrestha also squandered chances.
A team named African United was the winner of eight and runner up of ninth edition. However, the team is not registered anywhere. Five years ago, a team with the same name had participated in the tournament.
Despite improved performance after the interval, African United failed to lived up to the expectations.
Following his team´s defeat, African United coach Aziz came down heavily on referee for the latter´s "bias" against his team. "The referee´s decision was biased. Last two goals we conceded were offside, "Aziz said. He also attributed uneven ground surface and different climatic condition for the defeat.
Aziz´s counterpart, Meghraj KC of Three Star said that his side missed numerous scoring opportunities as some new players were included in the squad for the first time. "The team was not properly set and I was a bit scared before the match," KC said during the post match conference, adding, "But the opponents were not as strong. And it was unfortunate that Sahukhala missed some chances. Had he scored we could have defeated the opponents by a huge margin."
Nepal Police Club will take on CFC Club of Bhutan on Monday.
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