RCT registered a deserved 4-1 victory over Yeti Himalayan Sherpa Club on Tuesday at the Dasharath Stadium to top Group C of the tournament with nine points. Following RCT´s win, CMG Club Sankata also progressed to the quarterfinal round as it had won two matches in the group stage. Mahindra Bansbari had already crashed out from Group C.
RCT will take on the runner-up of Group D in the quarterfinals while Sankata will face the Group D winner. Though Nepal Police Club and Bauddha Football Club have already booked quarterfinal berths from Group D, the group winner is yet to be decided. Wednesday´s match between Nepal Police Club and Samsung Jawalakhel will decide the group winner.
Himalayan Sherpa had to win Tuesday´s match to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the next round.
However, RCT dominated the entire match and took a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game. Yugal Kishor Rai scored the first goal for RCT utilizing a pass from Amar Dangol.
RCT´s African forward Oladipo Olawale put up a superb performance in the second half scoring two goals and setting up another for Dangol. Dangol received a pass from Olawale in the danger zone and scored with a half-volley in the 50th minute. Five minutes later, Olawale dodged four defenders and the goalkeeper to score the third goal for RCT. He added his second in the 78th minute dodging two Sherpa defenders.
Earlier in the 61st minute, Pukar Gahatraj scored a goal for Himalayan Sherpa from the penalty spot. RCT was penalized after its player Krishna Kunwar fouled Dinesh Karki in the danger zone.
"A 1-0 win was not enough for us to qualify for the quarterfinals. We had to beat RCT by a huge margin. So the boys played attacking football but conceded early goals and played the entire match under pressure," said Himalayan Sherpa coach Arjun Lama.
RCT coach Madhu Karki said that the early lead led to an easy victory for his side. Karki claimed that his side has been performing well in recent days.
Wednesday´s match
Nepal Police Vs Samsung Jawalakhel
@ 15:00 NST
Group C Points table
Club P W D L GF GA Pts
RCT 3 3 0 0 9 4 9
Sankata 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
H Sherpa 3 1 0 2 3 6 3
Bansbari 3 0 0 3 2 5 0
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