Sports
Durgapur stun hosts Dharan
Durgapur Steel FC of Kolkata fought back from two goals down to pip hosts Dharan FC in a sudden death penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of the 20th Budha Subba Gold Cup football tournament on Sunday.Pradeep Menyangbo
Durgapur Steel FC of Kolkata fought back from two goals down to pip hosts Dharan FC in a sudden death penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of the 20th Budha Subba Gold Cup football tournament on Sunday.
Durgapur struck two quick goals in the second half as the regulation 90 minutes of play ended in 2-2 draw deadlock. After the 15 minutes of extra time failed to break the deadlock, the game was pushed to spot kicks.
Even the tiebreaker, where each team had five opportunities each, ended in a 3-3 draw meaning the result was decided through sudden death shootout. Manish Thapa converted in the sudden death from the spot before Dharan’s Tirtha Basnet fired wide.
In the tiebreaker, Bartaman Rai, Yogesh Gurung and Buddhiman Rai converted their shots for the hosts while Bishnu Sunuwar and Suraj BK fired off target. For Durgapur, Sashikanta Sur, Pranob Mitra and Shegu Iafe were successful from spots while Bishwajit Mandal and Samrat Nandi were denied by Dharan custodian Dipesh Chaudhary. Durgapur will take on the winners of the match between Three Star and Farwest XI in semi-finals.
Earlier, Dharan took a second minute lead when Roman Limbu converted a Yogesh Gurung pass. They were 2-0 up in the 16th after Bartaman Rai hit the target following a pass from Limbu. Durgapur came up with an improved performance after the break and showed the character required to win the match. The introduction of Mitra and Subham Thapa as substitutes brought desired result for the Indian side.
Durgapur pulled one back in the 77th minute through Sur before Subham restored the parity only a minute later to stun the home crowd. Dharan missed as many as seven scoring chance against the visitors who also created four scoring chances.
Nishan Limbu alone wasted five scoring opportunities in one-on-one situations with goalie Bishal Khatik. The hosts also squandered another scoring chance in the stoppage time as they squandered a penalty, awarded after Emanuel tripped Yogesh Gurung inside the area. Nishan Limbu stepped in to take the spot kick but was denied by Durgapur goalkeeper Khatik.
Dharan coach Subash KC rued on the missed chances. “We did well to go 2-0 up but then missed to many scoring chances. Overconfidence of the players costs us the match,” said KC. Durgapur coach Pintu Sarkar said his side played patiently in the first half to learn about the opponents. “Despite conceding the early goals, the introduction of Mitra and Thapa changed the match,” added Sarkar. Babulal Hasda of Durgapur was declared man-of-the-match.
Defending champions Nepal Police Club will take on Jhapa XI on Monday.