Striker Santosh Sahukhala struck the decider in the 39th minute to lead the Lalitpur-based outfits in the final.

NPC had on Wednesday defeated another A Division rivals and two-time champions Manang Marshyangdi Club 2-1 in the first semi-finals. The final will played on Saturday.

Kiran Chemjong was the saviour for Three Star, saving a penalty kick from Ganesh Lawati in the first-half injury time after Sahukhala had converted his spotkick. It was APF who piled pressure on Three Star in the opening exchanges when Ganesh Lawati set the ball for an unmarked Santosh Shrestha inside the area in the 11th minute. Shrestha blasted a powerful shot but Chemjong punched the ball to safety.

Three Star took the lead against the run of play when they were awarded the penalty after Aditya Chaudhary brought down Elvis inside the area. Sahukhala stepped in and made a cool finish to put Three Star ahead. APF soon got an opportunity to level the scores when they were awarded the spot kick but Chemjong made a spectacular save to deny APF.

APF exerted a lot of pressure on Three Star but missed out on two occasions during the closing stages of the game. Three Star coach Anjan KC said his team was successful in overcoming an under-prepared status for the tournament. “We didn’t have enough practice but the presence of experienced players made the difference for us. Playing against a fit team like APF was a tough job but we fared well,” said KC adding that his side has to do a lot when they take on NPC.

APF assistant coach Jibesh Pandey rued the missed chances. “We were still playing well despite conceding the first goal but we failed to convert chances that came our way. To add to our defeat, we also did not execute our plans properly,” added Pandey.