DHANGADHI, Jan 11: The semifinal lineup of the ongoing Sudur Paschim Khaptad Gold Cup football tournament has been completed after Sankata Club became the latest club to reach the last four on Wednesday. Sankata registered 2-1 victory over Tribhuvan Army Club in the last quarterfinal match of the tournament.
In the match played at Dhangadhi Stadium, African recruit Martin Ajaya netted twice for Sankata while Army's only goal came from Tek Bahadur Budhathoki.
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Departmental side Army studded with national players - Bikesh Kuthu, Jitendra Karki, Dipak Gurung, Bharat Khawas, Nawayug Shrestha-created many goal scoring chances but poor conversion saw it failing to produce more than one goal.
Man-of-the-match Martin gave lead to Sankata in the 16th minute and scored his personal second goal for the winning side nine minutes later to make it 2-0. Tek Bahadur Budthaoki scored in the 61st minute for Army. However, that goal wasn't sufficient to prevent Army's defeat.
After the match, Sankata's head cocah Salyan Khadgi said, “We came on the pitch with the plan of scoring early goal which we did and that kept us in the driving seat.”
In the meantime, Army's head coach Nabin Neupane said that his team came under pressure after conceding early goal which affected the outcome of the match. “We came under pressure after conceding early goal and failing to convert chances,” said head coach Neupane.
In the first semifinal of the tournament on Thursday, Manang Marsyangdi will take on Indian opponent Delhi United while host Far-Western Football Club will take on Sankata Club on Friday in the second semifinal clash.
