A last gasp winner from substitute Rupesh KC handed Manang Marshyangdi Club a 1-0 victory over Nepal APF Club here on Monday.

The win lifted MMC to fourth in the points table with 22 points from 12 games and closed gap on leaders Three Star (26), Jhapa (24) and Tribhuvan Army Club (24) who all have played one game more. APF have 20 points from 12 games.

MMC had an early chance wasted in the second minute when Zikahe Leonce Dodoz’s wrongly placed the ball with his shot close from the goalline narrowly missing the post. APF then controlled the entire first half but missed out on producing a goal. APF had a chance to score on a set piece in the fifth minute when referee Sudish Pandey awarded them a freekick just outside the area after Sissoko brought down Ganesh Lawati. However, Heman Gurung’s curling shot missed the post by few inches.

Two minutes later, Sissoko made a goalline clearance to deny APF midfielder Nabin Lama, who cut past the advancing MMC second choice goalie Dipesh Yadav before shooting at the target. In an eventful three minutes, Jangbu Sherpa’s powerful shot from the area was blocked by Yadav in 24th before Gurung’s powerful freekick pierced the MMC wall but missed the post. The match remained locked on 0-0 after APF’s Top Bahadur Bista blocked a powerful shot from Sushil KC in an empty net in the first minute of first half stoppage time.

If the first half belonged to APF, Manang dominated the second. It began with Deepak Rai forcing custodian Amrit Chaudhary for a full stretch dive to save a powerful ground shot just two minutes after the resumption. Chaudhary once again rescued APF blocking a powerful close-range shot from Deepak and in rebound KC’s another low shot was cleared by Man Bahadur Tamang in the 53rd. In the 56th, woodwork denied Dodoz.

MMC frustration continued in the 79th minute after Chaudhary blocked a shot from Rupesh KC and Anil Gurung missed a half volley in an empty net in a rebound. APF finally succumbed to MMC pressure when substitute defender Saroj Koirala let KC fire from inside the area with a rising shot that struck the roof of the net.

APF coach Krishna Thapa said they surrendered at the closing stages of the game. “We actually played for a draw today but the last 12 minutes of the game was crazy,” said Thapa. “MMC were consistently putting pressure on us and our guys caved in,” added Thapa. MMC coach Raju Kaji Shakya was happy to walk away with three points. “We were under tremendous pressure to win but we allowed APF to play freely in the first half. We were lucky to get a last gasp win but at the end of the day it’s valuable three points for us,” said Shakya.