Willam Opoku Asidedu scored a controversial penalty deep in stoppage time as Birgunj United defeated Ilam 2-1 in a tense encounter to earn their first victory in the Nepal Super League at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Ilam seemed content to share a point with Birgunj despite allowing their one-goal lead slip away, and to their horror, referee Kabin Byanjankar pointed to the spot in the fourth minute of the added time ruling that Ilam defender Suraj Basnet had handled the ball just inside the penalty area.

Basnet had tripped while attempting to prevent Sunil Khadka from reaching Tej Tamang’s flick-on and appeared to have handled the ball in his further attempt to jam the momentum. Video replay showed Basnet seemingly attempting to stymie the ball in the heat of the moment as he tried to get up on his feet.

The decision to award the penalty sparked a brawl as Ilam players swarmed the referee, with Ilam goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu being the loudest and reacting angrily at the cruel decision that was given at the death hour.

Kuthu, who was shown a yellow for the protest, initially refused to take part in the penalty kick but the decision was already made.

And Asidedu was cool as a cucumber to send Ilam goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu the wrong way in the 98th minute.

Kuthu was then shown a second yellow and a red after the final whistle for furiously protesting at the face of the referee.

The first half of the match between the bottom two teams was a charged one with many chances and Ilam were the first to draw the blood when Ashish Chapagain slammed the back of the net from the close range after Basnet put him through.

Birgunj equalised in the 33rd minute through Bishon Gurung. Gurung was given too much room in the area and the midfielder took advantage of the defensive lapse to tap in a perfectly laid pass from Sushil Lama.

The second half lacked brightness as no sides got closer to goal until the troubled stoppage time.

The win moved Birgunj one spot up to eighth position in the nine-team standings with five points. Ilam dropped to the bottom with four points.

Lalitpur City lead the table with nine points. Dhangadhi, defending champions Kathmandu Rayzrs and Pokhara Thunders are square on eight points but occupy the second, third and fourth spot, respectively.