Sahara edged past departmental team Nepal Army Club 4-2 in a tiebreaker following a goalless draw in the regulation and extra time to set up the title clash with A division outfit Three Star Club.[break]
Sahara custodian Ajeet Prajapati denied four out of two spotkicks taken by Army players while all four -- Olawala Usaman Olumide, Buddha Lama, Adarsha Shahi and Jaya Thapa converted spotkicks for Sahara. Santosh Nepali and Deep Lama of Army were denied by Prajapati while Tek Bahadur Budathoki and Gangaram Deuja succeeded in scoring spotkicks. Winning team´s Man Bahadur Tamang was declared the man-of-the-match.
"We have created history overcoming the semifinal hurdle. The victory has made the home fans proud," said Kiran Shrestha, the coach of Sahara FC after the win.
Earlier Sahara custodian Prajapati had made heroic saves in the 39th and 40th minute to prevent Deep Lama and Bishwa Bairag Samal´s strike. Similarly, Santosh Nepali´s 30-yard strike in the 78th minute sailed inches above bar while Tanka Basnet also kicked a similar shot in the 87th minute. In the fifth minute of additional half an hour time, Deep Lama´s powerful shot was punched to safety by custodian Prajapati.
Army coach Saila Maharjan opined that his side was defeated after failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities. "There were weaknesses in scoring and the boys failed to play as per expectations in the first half," said Maharjan.
Sahara also failed to utilize some scoring chances in the match. In the 45th minute, Yuddha Shahi of Army cleared Bivek Pratap Panta´s shot taken from the area. In the 61st minute, Army custodian Gangaram Deuja prevented two simultaneous attacks from Olumide and Buddha Lama.
Three minutes before the end of the added half an hour time, Tana Basnet rescued Army making a goalline clearance to prevent Olumide´s header.
Sahara coach Kiran Shrestha opined that his side was able to outdo the Army despite playing under pressure.
"We played defensive football after 80 minutes. After realizing that we cannot score in regulation time we planned to take the match to tiebreaker and it bore fruit," said Shrestha adding his side was under pressure due to absence of three key players of the squad including Yona Elias Ndabila, Sushan Lama and Michael Nitsefe due to two yellow cards.
The final will be held on Saturday.
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