Church Boys United left it late to come from behind and bury Friends Club 2-1 as they worked their way into the second position in the Martyrs Memorial A-Division at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Ghanaian defender Ben Nash Quansah gave Friends the 14th minute lead, heading a sublime free kick from Done Thapa into the far post.

But the league debutants rallied late into the second half, with Anjan Bista and Ashish Chapagain finding the targets in the space of a frenzied five minutes.

Anjan Bista was unlucky when his close-ranged header had hit the post before finding the grasp of Friends goalkeeper Raja Babu Thapa in the 9th minute.

But CBU rode their luck when they were awarded a penalty after Quansah and Prem Bahadur Bhandari fouled Ranjeet Singh Pandre who was racing to meet a pass from Sushil Shah inside the box.

Bista stepped up and planted the ball into the bottom corner in the 87th minute to breathe life into the game.

That set the tone for what was to come and Chapagain had the final say in the first minute of the injury time. Laxman Ruchal failed to clear a through pass from Mausham Subba and Chapagain seized the opportunity to clinically place the ball into the far post.

The win helped coach Bal Gopal Maharjan’s side put pressure on leaders Jawalakhel, whose run of poor form has gone unpunished so far.

CBU are level on 24 points with Jawalakhel but sit behind them due to inferior goal difference.

Friends are in the drop zone with 15 points.

Satdobato Youth Club also failed to capitalise on Jawalakhel’s slump and climb to the top of the 14-team standings after they succumbed to a shock 1-0 defeat against strugglers Himalayan Sherpa Club at the Chyasal Stadium.

Sherpa have shown signs of revival of late, shocking Jawalakhel 1-0 and drawing 1-1 against departmental giants Tribhuvan Army Club in the last two matches, and Khamir Gilsan Kandangwa’s 66th minute goal was enough to move coach Suman Shrestha’s side out of relegation zone.

Kandangwa drilled a shot from the edge of the area into the back of the net after Pistone Vunyoli Mutamba set him up.

The win sent Sherpa up to ninth position in the table. Satdobato dropped to the fourth spot. Three Star Club are in the third position.

Record eight-time champions Manang Marshyangdi Club finally snapped their six-match losing streak as they defeated Army 1-0 at the Dasharath Stadium.

Manang’s Koffi Timothee Koudo scored the winner in the second minute of the second-half injury time when the Togo forward bulldozed inside the penalty area to put a low drive into the bottom corner after he was fed by Bijaya Shrestha.