DHARAN, Feb 4: CMG Club Sankata has entered the semifinal of the 20th Budha Subba Gold Cup football tournament defeating Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) 1-0 on Saturday.
At the match played at Dharan Stadium, Sankata’s foreign recruit Arnest Tump scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute mark latching on to a pass in d-box area produced from a free-kick by local player Hemant Thapa Magar. Tump was adjudged player of the match and rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Sankata head coach Salyan Khadgi was ecstatic to beat a comparatively stronger team with a host Nepal’s international football players like Anil Gurung and Bishal Rai.
Host Dharan stuns Sankata to reach Budha Subba Gold Cup final
“This is our first match. Many players have joined in from all over the country. We are yet to settle in as a team,” said Khadgi after the win.
Meanwhile, the Manang coach Chiring Lopsan was upset that the organizers only played 40-minute-halves costing them the defeat.
He also rued the team’s inability to clear the free-kick by Thapa, which helped Tump score the winner. He also regretted a golden chance missed by Kiran Limbu in the 25th minute when he missed to convert the rebound. “Playing 40 minutes halves was a bad decision that resulted in our defeat,” said Lopsan.
Sankata finished runner-up in the last edition of the Gold Cup when they lost the final against Nepal Police Club (NPC) in sudden death. Dharan Football Club will face Kolkata-based Indian club Durgapur Steel AFC on Sunday.
