Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club stunned star-studded Three Star Club 1-0 to enter the semi-finals of the Pokhara Cup football tournament at the Pokhara Stadium on Sunday.

Forward Santosh Shrestha netted the fastest goal of the tournament in just 26 seconds to send Three Star packing from the first match. Shrestha capitalised on a pass from Rajiv Lopchan promptly after Three Star had started the ball to score for the departmental outfits. The ball rolled on to the feet of APF’s Bishwas Udas after a miss-pass from Bijay Dhimal and the defender passed it to midfielder Lopchan. The APF midfielder than squared it for Shrestha who rounded up Three Star defender Ranjit Dhimal before firing past goalkeeper Alan Neupane. Though the shot-stopper got his hand on the ball at near post but the still cross the goalline.

APF threatened Three Star yet again in the 11th minute when Lopchan dribbled past Three Star defenders Ananta Tamang and Bijay Dhimal only to shoot wide at the near post. Although the Lalitpur-based outfits dominated the ball possession they failed to make it count. They exerted more pressure on the second half and created frequent chances but failed to find the back of the net.

Three Star, the winner of the Simara Gold Cup in Bara on January 26, came closer to equalising three minutes after resumption when Buddha Limbu’s powerful strike from the zone rattled on the woodwork. Sunil Bal had the opportunity to score in the rebound but ended up firing high above bar. Limbu also squandered another chance in the 81st minute. APF defender Ramesh Dangol was declared man-of-the-match and won Rs 5000.

APF coach Rajendra Tamang said his team had a really tough time in defeating Three Star. “I am happy that we were able to beat Three Star. The goal came as a surprise for us,” said Tamang. Three Star coach Meghraj KC rued on the missed chances and lauded APF performance. “We missed numerous scoring chances and the young players of APF played really well,” said KC. “They should be proud for holding opponents like Three Star for 90 minutes,” said KC adding exhaustion after continuous tournaments and injury of some of his key players were the factor in his side’s defeat.

Dauphins Family of Cameroon will take on Tribhhuvan Army Club in another quarter-final match on Monday.