Three Star Club defeated Sankata Club 3-0 to move up to second position in the Martyrs Memorial A-Division League at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Sunday.

Ajayi Martins scored a double to give Megh Raj KC’s side 21 points from 11 matches—two adrift of leaders Jawalakhel Youth Club on top. Santosh Sahukhala was also on target for Three Star.

Sankata kept Three Star box under constant pressure in the first half but lacked the cutting edge to convert chances into goals.

Suraj Jeu Thakuri tested Three Star’s Lebanese goalkeeper Taha Mohamad with a curling free kick in the 17th minute.

Youssef Atriss had an opportunity to put Sankata in front from a counter attack in the 36th minute but the Lebanon forward hummed and hawed to find support instead of trying his luck, allowing Three Star defenders to overpower him.

Sankata’s Junior Nkengue set up Manish Dangi inside the box in the 40th minute with an acrobatic back heel but Mohamad reacted quickly to punch away the danger.

But it was Three Star who took the lead against the run of play in the 42nd minute when Ajayi Martins chipped over Sankata goalkeeper Bishnu Kumar KC from out of nowhere.

The Nigerian doubled Three Star’s lead immediately after the restart heading in a Laken Limbu’s pass for a clinical finish.

Martins missed his chance to score a hat-trick from the spot kick in the 50th minute after Kuldip Karki managed to handle the ball while attempting to block a shot from Aditya Shakya. But Martins shot off the target to waste the chance.

Three Star’s Mohamad then denied Nelson Konfor twice with his witty and dogged effort, first thwarting the Cameroonian’s brilliant move in the 71st minute and then blocking his 86th minute free kick.

Shahukhala put the icing on the cake in the eighth minute of injury time, tapping in a cross from Mahendra Karki.

Sankata sit in the eighth position on 15 points.

Earlier, Dipak Raj Singh Thakuri scored a brace but relegation-threatened Himalayan Sherpa Club came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Satdobato Youth Club at the Chyasal Stadium.

Thakuri gave Satdobato the lead 46 seconds into the game when he broke free from his marker to convert a cross from Pasang Lama.

Second half-substitute Nishal Limbu equalised in the 72nd minute tapping in a low pass from Nigerian international Abayomi Fakunle.

Thakuri put Satdobato in the driving seat again in the 80 minutes after good work from William Opoku Asiedu, who released Pasang Lama on the left. Lama outpaced Sherpa defenders and squared with Thakuri for a cool finish. It was Thakuri’s eighth goal of the season, level with Machhindra Club’s Olawale Afeez. Khumaltar’s Messouke Oloumou and Jawalakhel Youth Club’s Masoabi Nkoto lead the scoring chart with nine goals each.

Sushil Rai pounced on a sloppy defence in the 83rd minute to poke a cross from Biswash Shrestha to deny Satdobato a crucial victory.

The draw puts Satdobato in fourth position on 18 points. They are level with third-placed Church Boys United but sit below them due to inferior goal difference.