Jhapa-11 advances to semifinals
MORANG:- Jhapa-11 emerged victorious in the match held on Monday as part of the Third International Invitational Pathari-Shanishchare Gold Cup. They secured a spot in the semi-finals by defeating Lalitpur’s Three Star Club 4–3 in a penalty shootout.
The match went to a shootout after the two teams played out a 2–2 draw in regulation time. Pratap Chamling Rai gave Jhapa-11 the lead by scoring in the 32nd minute. Milan Chamling Rai equalized for Three Star in the 57th minute.
Three Star took the lead in the 63rd minute through a goal by Chrisal Thapa, but Roman Bhujel leveled the score at 2–2 for Jhapa-11 in the 76th minute. With no further goals scored by either side, the match was decided by a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Roman Bhujel, Prashant Laksam, Pradip Budhathoki, and Nikhil Tamang scored for Jhapa-11. For Three Star, Sagar Tiwari, Dorje Tamang, and Diwash Urau converted their penalties, while Jhapa goalkeeper Yogesh Dhimal saved the attempts by Sujan Chaudhary and Lekan Rai.
Jhapa-11 goalkeeper Dhimal, who made the decisive saves, was named ‘Man of the Match.’ Having secured a hard-fought victory to reach the semi-finals, Jhapa-11 will face India’s UKFC on Wednesday for a place in the final.
On Tuesday, Nepal Police Club will compete against Redhorse Ilam in the tournament.
