Lalitpur, October 16

Tribhuvan Army Club are assured of finishing second after they hammered Nepal Police Club 3-0 in the Red Bull National League match at the ANFA Complex grounds today.

Tek Bahadur Budhathoki, Nawayug Shrestha and Tanka Basnet scored for the Armymen, who moved to the top of the table with 33 points. Ruslan Three Star Club (32) and Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (31) will fight for the title in the last match of the league on Saturday. A win is enough for Three Star to win the title, while MMC are in a must-win situation and a loss will see them finish third.

The outcome, however, does not affect the Armymen’s position. The top three teams will receive Rs 10 million, Rs 5 million and Rs 2.5 million respectively. TAC took the lead in

the 29th minute when Budhathoki scored through the legs of NPC defender Suraj BK that also beat goalkeeper Roshan Khadka.

Nawayug Shrestha doubled the tally five minutes into the second half as he beat the offside trap to score from the box. Shrestha scored his 14th goal of the campaign to stay at the top of the chart. Basnet then put the issue beyond doubt with the team’s third goal in the 82nd minute when he dodged NPC defender Santosh Hemroon before firing home.

TAC coach Meghraj KC was happy with his team’s performance. “Finishing second in the National League is an achievement for the club and it was possible only because of the hard works from the players and backing of the management,” KC said. NPC coach Birat Krishna Shrestha said injury was behind his team’s dismal performance in the league. “We were suffering from the injury crisis from the beginning and today we were forced to field the players who were not match fir,” he added.