Sujal scored twice within the first 20 minutes of the game and completed his hat-trick fifteen minutes after the hour mark while forwards Anil Gurung and Yona Elias also joined in the goal-scoring spree. MMC will now square off against hosts Sahara Football Club on Saturday.

NPC, who have won the tournament for a record five times were stunned early in the game after Sujal fired MMC to a 2-0 lead with barely 18 minutes on the clock.  The winger opened the scoring when his curling freekick from the edge of the area nestled into the back of the net, going past the outstretched glove of NPC custodian Ritesh Thapa in the 10th minute. Sujal doubled MMC’s lead from the penalty spot after Elias’s drilled effort on goal struck the arm of NPC defender Suman Subedi eight minutes later.

The influential Sujal then turned provider two minutes after the half-hour mark when his perfectly weighted cross was headed in by Gurung. Elias then guided Bishal Rai’s cross into the back of the net four minutes before the interval to end a one-sided first half. Sujal completed his hat-trick in brilliant fashion as he dribbled past two NPC defenders inside the area and coolly slotted the ball past the helpless NPC custodian Thapa 0 in the 75th minute.

MMC coach Hari Om Shrestha was delighted with his team’s incredible performance. “We had beaten NPC in the league so I was confident before the game. But I was not expecting such a wide margin of win. The players were outstanding offensively and performed exceptionally well,” said Shrestha.

MMC will now enter the pitch on Saturday looking to secure their fourth title here. “I am confident especially after today’s game. I am sure we can clinch the trophy if we played in the manner that we did today,” said Shrestha.

NPC coach Birat Krishna  Shrestha expressed bitter disappointment with his players and pointed out that their poor start cost them dear. “We were poor defensively early on. They capitalised on our defensive errors scoring twice which made it really difficult for us to make a comeback,” said the NPC coach.