A last-gasp goal from Yogesh Gurung sent Rupandehi XI into the final of  the Simara Gold Cup football tournament here on Thursday.

Gurung scored two minute into the second half injury time to beat Birgunj United  Club in the second semi-finals. Rupandehi will now take on Bijay  Youth Club of Hetauda in final on Saturday. Bijay Youth made it to the  final with a shock win over Tribhuvan Army Club on Wednesday.

Rupandehi were on the attack from early on with Shiva Shrestha and Gurung  both coming close to scoring in the space of three minutes. While Shrestha  was denied by alert Birgunj goalkeeper Kishor Giri in the 12th minute,  Gurung was left cursing himself after failing to direct the ball into the  nets despite having beaten goalkeeper Giri.

Birgunj also missed two scoring chances in quick succession. Bikram Limbu  saw his strike hit the woodwork in the 19th minute before Karna Limbu  headed wide following an acute pass from Amar Dangol three minutes later. In a see-saw match, Gurung yet again squandered another goal scoring  chance for Rupandehi in the 29th minute.

Karna Limbu was denied by Rupandehi custodian Dillip Chhetri in the 77th

minute in the only notable move in the second half. However it was Rupandehi who came up with a telling blow in the injury time with Gurung scoring the decider in a solitary effort.

Rupandehi assistant coach Jaggunath Khadka credited luck rather than the performance for his side’s victory. “We were lucky not to concede a late goal and more importantly we found the net

in the counter-attack,” said Khadka. Birgunj coach Sulabh Jung Rana said a loss of concentration at the last moment cost them the game. “We also paid for the missed chances,” said Rana.