Sports
NPC set title clash with Army
Nepal Police Club (NPC) beat Sankata Club 2-0 in the semi-finals of Hetauda Gold Cup football tournament on Thursday to set up the title showdown with departmental rivals Tribhuvan Army Club.Nepal Police Club (NPC) beat Sankata Club 2-0 in the semi-finals of Hetauda Gold Cup football tournament on Thursday to set up the title showdown with departmental rivals Tribhuvan Army Club.
Dinesh Rajbanshi and Nir Kumar Rai scored either side of the interval for the departmental outfits, who were earlier crowned the champions of the Aaha Rara Gold Cup in Pokhara before winning men’s football gold under National Sports Council Championships. NPC will take on the Army team on Saturday, who have lifted five major trophies out of 10 tournaments they have participated in this season.
Defender Rajbanshi headed in the 19th minute with a smart move to put the departmental team ahead.
He headed in an acute pass supplied by Suman Lama after he collected a low freekick from Tej Tamang. Sankata came closer to levelling the scores in the 49th minute when custodian Satrughan Chaudhary made quick dive to prevent a header from foreign recruit Cedric Aba.
NPC blew any comeback hopes of Sankata as they doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute. Rai brilliantly struck the net with a cool finish from the inner edge of zone. He dribbled past two defenders after collecting Hem Tamang’s long pass to leave goalie Binay Shrestha hardly any time to react. In the 62nd Police custodian Satrughan Chaudhary punched out Bishwa Adhikari’s freekick to safety. NPC almost added the third goal in the 68th only for goalkeeper Shrestha to react quickly to deny Tej Tamang’s powerful shot.