By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Title contenders Ruslan Three Star Club avoided a defeat with a second-half goal in the Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League on Friday. Three Star, which was under pressure after conceding a goal against Friends Club soon after the break, had to wait until the 83rd minute for Mikchen Tamang to salvage a draw in the Lalitpur derby.
The match held at the Dasharath Stadium ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Friends Club missed a chance to take an early lead as Three Star’s goalkeeper Preso punched a strike from Prijen Tamang in the fourth minute. At the other end, Friends’ goalkeeper Rahul Ram Chandra Yadav saved a free kick from Nishan Khadka in the 20th minute.
Three Star missed another good chance to take the lead in the 25th minute when a strike from Santosh Rai went wide. Three Star’s Hritik Khadka also missed a goal in a one-versus-one situation as goalkeeper Yadav denied him a chance after he was fed the ball by Sanjog Rai in the 50th minute.
A minute later, it was Nathaniel Gracia who scored a superb header in a cross from skipper Prakash Budhathoki to give Friends Club the lead. Sanjog Rai hit the woodwork from outside the penalty box in the 75th minute.
Finally, Three Star were rewarded in the 83rd minute as Mikchen Tamang converted a clever pass from Hemant Thapa Magar into the post.
Three Star had a chance to take away all three points when Friends’ goalkeeper Yadav came forward leaving the post unattended in the 85th minute as Hritik Khadka made an attempt to score. However, Ronnel Paul came to the rescue and cleared the ball with a header.
Following the 1-1 draw, Three Star has managed to collect four points from three matches. Friends Club has garnered two points from three matches.
Earlier, Three Star had defeated Chyasal 3-0 in their opening match but were beaten 1-0 by Satdobato in the second match. Likewise, Friends had played a goalless draw against Satdobato in the first match and were defeated 2-1 by Sankata in their second match.
