Kushal Deuba scored an extra-time winner as ten-man Lalitpur defeated Pokhara Thunders 2-1 in the Qualifier 2 to advance into the final of the Nepal Super league at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Pokhara forward Stephen Kojo Paapa Annor had pushed the game into extra time with a 71st minute header cancelling out Imon Ezekiel’s first-half lead for Lalitpur.

But Deuba, who came off the bench toward the end of the second half, broke the 1-1 deadlock in the ninth minute of extra time with a cool finish, pouncing on a slip-up from Pokhara defender Narendra Chaudhary, whose mistimed effort to clear a header from captain Ananta Tamang gifted the possession to Lalitpur in front of the goal.

Australian Ian Andrew Gillan’s men will now face Dhangadhi in Saturday’s title match that will give the Nepal Super League new champions.

Dhangadhi reached their second successive final on Monday with a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Pokhara after the match ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time. Lalitpur, who defeated defending champions Kathmandu Rayzrs 3-0 in the Eliminator, will be playing their first final of the franchise tournament after making it to the Qualifier 2 last season.

“The last two wins have given us positive energy,” said player-of-the-match Tamang. “We are ready for Dhangadhi.”

Lalitpur will need to be extra careful against Dhangadhi as they will be missing their firepower Nikhil Sureshrao Kadam, who was sent off in the 34th minute for a second yellow that he received for a foul on Pokhara’s starman Ayush Ghalan.

“We came under pressure after our squad was reduced to 10 men but we played as a team and we won,” added Tamang.

Lalitpur showed an aggressive display from the start, constantly attacking the Pokhara box, but were forced to backpedal after they were limited to 10 men.

Their nerves soon settled when Ezekiel put Lalitpur in front in the first minute of the added time. The Nigerian well-timed his run to connect with a cutting pass, conjured out of nowhere by Papa Ibou Kebe, outpaced chasing defenders Franklin Kuete Talla and Dinesh Rajbanshi and put the ball past Pokhara goalkeeper Guillaume Yves Priso.

Pokhara, who failed to muster even a single shot on target in the first half, were lacklustre after the break as well but Annor gave them fighting space midway into the second half. The Cameroonian broke loose of his marker Dinesh Henjan and converted a cross from Joe Aidoo with a powerful header.

But the 17-year-old Deuba, who replaced Ezekiel in the added time of the second half, had other plans and scored the winner to complete a deserving victory.

“I had already felt that the ball would go in before touching it,” Deuba said after the match. “It was instant…the goal was instant.”