Tribhuvan Army Club inched closer to the Kakadbhitta Gold Cup football tournament title after a brace from Dinesh Henjan guided them to a convincing 3-0 win over Nepal Police Club in the semi-finals here on Tuesday.

Following a goalless first half, Henjan scored in the 54th and 64th minutes before George Prince Karki sealed the comfortable win five minutes from time. Army will meet the winners of second semi-final match between hosts Kakavbhitta Football Training Centre and Manang Marshyangdi Club, which will be played on Wednesday.  

Police made a bright star in the departmental derby and squandered a couple of scoring chances in the first half. In the 24th Police skipper Jumanu Rai failed to score in one-on-one with Army custodian Bikesh Kuthu. In the 35th Rabin Shrestha’s flicked attempt flew inches above the bar in Tej Tamang cross. 

Rejuvenated Army, who played without their star forward Nawayug Shrestha, put on an improved show after the break. They opened the scoring nine minutes into second half when Henjan, the Nepali U-19 forward, headed home a Deepak Gurung cross.  Three minutes later, Army survived a scare when custodian Kutu punched Sunil Lama’s freekick to safety.  

Henjan, named man-of-the-match, doubled the Army’s advantage in the 64th after blasted into the open net from close range capitalising on a defensive error from Police defenders. Army sealed the victory in the 85th through forward George Prince Karki. 

“We opted for an offensive approach after the break and that paid rich dividend for us,” Army team coach Nabin Neupane said. “Our opponents came under pressure immediately after we scored the first goal and we took advantage of that to great deal by adding more goals.” NPC coach Kumar Katuwal rued on the missed chances. “We wasted a lot of scoring opportunities. They (Army) exploited out weakness to the maximum to score goals,” said Katuwal.