KATHMANDU, June 10: CMG Club Sankata and Tribhuvan Army Club are set to battle in the summit clash of the Lalit Memorial U-18 Football Championship after registering semifinals victories on Saturday.
To book their places in the final, Sankata overcame Friends Club 4-2 on penalties while Army produced a thumping 4-0 win over departmental rival Nepal Police Club (NPC). The final match of the championship is slated for Monday.
The first match of the day played between Sankata and Friends at ANFA Complex, Satdobato, was pushed toward the penalties after both teams scored one goal each in the normal time. Ranjit Gurung's opener in the 42nd minute had put Sankata ahead while Friends produced the equalizer with Sumit Magar scoring in the 47th minute.
Meanwhile, Nabin Gurung, Dipesh Ale Magar, Devraj Tamang and Ranjit Gurung successfully converted the penalties for Sankata while Sagar Thapa's shot went above the bar.
On the other hand, only two players --Nishan Thapa Magar and Dikshit Thapa --scored for Friends while Rumesh Bartaula and Aashish KC missed the target for the losing side.
After guiding his team to the final, Sankata's Coach Sugan Tandukar said that their hard work paid off. “We had worked hard for this tournament and luck also was in our favor today. We had played friendly matches against Friends Club before this tournament so we were well aware of them and they also knew us well. So, it was an open contest,” said Coach Tandukar.
Army 4-0 NPC
In the second semifinal match, Dinesh Yonzon scored a hat-trick to help Army register the comprehensive win over its arch rival. Likewise, Prizen Tamang added another goal.
Dinesh scored the opener in the 15th minute to give lead to Army while he scored his second and third goals in the 44th and 72nd minutes respectively. Prizen scored Army's fourth goal in the 88th minute. Army was reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute as Roman Limbu was given marching order by the referee but Police failed to capitalize on the situation.
Sankata, Tribhuvan Army to vie for title
