NEPALGUNJ, March 14: Rupandehi XI has reached the final of the ongoing Tuborg Second Nepalgunj Gold Cup Football Tournament defeating Nepal Police Club 2-1 in the semifinal on Tuesday.
Rupandehi XI will now take on CMG Club Sankata in the summit clash of the tournament on Thursday.
In the match played at Nepalgunj Stadium, Amar Dangol scored both goals for Rupandehi XI while Jumanu Rai replied for the departmental side.
Anil fires Sankata into Budhasubba final
Police skipper Jumanu had scored the opening goal as he converted a penalty in the 33rd minute.
Police was provided penalty after Rupandehi XI's African recruit Musa fouled Jumanu in the danger area. However, three minutes later, Amar scored the equalizer for the finalist and added another in the 75th minute to help his team book the place in the final. Amar was declared man-of-the-match.
After guiding his team to the final, Rupandehi XI's head coach Dayaram Sapkota said that hard work of the players paid off. “Players worked very hard and played up to their mark. I am satisfied with their performance,” said head coach Sapkota.
Meanwhile, Police's coach Kumar Katwal said that poor finishing from his players saw his team face semifinal exit. “Rupandehi got two goal-scoring opportunities, utilized them and pulled the victory. But we failed to utilized the created chances and that was the reason behind the loss,” said head coach Katwal. The champion of the tournament will bag a purse of Rs 500,000 while the runner-up will be rewarded with Rs 251,000. Similarly the best player of the tournament will be given motorcycle.