Dharan FC played a sensational game mixing solid ingredients of offence, defense and patience to beat Mahendra Police Club (MPC) 1-0 to enter the finals of the 8th Buddha Subba Gold Cup Football Tournament at Dharan today.

Rishi Rai struck an early goal to beat MPC. BBC’s Shekhar Limbu pace beat right half back Deepak Poudel from the right flank, whose cross left MPC goalie Mukunda Thapa completely stranded allowing Rishi Rai to flick the ball straight into the net.

The story was bitter for MPC when Kunjan Shrestha’s goal was disallowed by asst. referee Amber Bahadur Pokhrel. Arjun Rijal then almost got an equalizing goal but his directed shot was unnecessarily touched by Kunjan Shrestha. Dharan FC then pressed to double its lead and were also on the target but Shekhar Limbu unfortunately hit the right pole in the 21st minute.

Rishi Rai could have put his team up 2-0, but he couldn’t net the ball from the six-yard box in the 28th minute after skipper Milan Shrestha, a former international player, set him a pass after dribbling past as many as two defenders in the box. MPC could have equalized in the 30th minutes, but RCT man Pradeep Acharya cleared the ball from the goal line off Ramesh Rai’s shot.

After the lemon break, Dharan FC opted to play a defensive game sending Sachin Rai in the place of Suman Shrestha but couldn’t hold the game as instructed by coach Suraj Khaling. Dharan FC’s defense line and goalie Dilip Chhetri was kept busy.

MPC almost leveled in the 56th minute but Kunjan Shrestha’s low shot was brilliantly saved by Pradeep Acharya from the goal line. After that, MPC continued to attack but were bereft of goals. In the 58th minute, skipper Ananta Thapa guided the ball from the edge of the box dribbling past two defenders but got sandwiched between Pradeep Acharya and Sagar Ghimire that caused a melee for cops who even appealed for a penalty. Nonetheless, referee Mudhu Sudan Khanal denied the appeal.

A minute later, lady luck favoured Dharan FC when Arjun Rijal’s tricky shot was brilliantly saved by Dilip Chhetri before Ananta Thapa’s diving header hit the inner bar instead of kissing the net. The last five minutes was thrilling for both teams as MPC attacked relentlessly while Dharan FC were busy defending. Parbat Pandey was unlucky when his curling free-kick shot in the 75th minute was denied by Dilip Chhetri. Ananta Thapa also triggered the gun but his shot was again brilliantly saved by Chhetri diving to the right.

“We are against the referee’s decision,” MPC coach Yogambar Suwal said. “We couldn’t utilize the chances and also suffered from the referee’s biasness,” he claimed. However, former national player and Dharan FC coach Suraj Khaling was satisfied with his boy’s performance. “I am happy with results and hopefully, we can win the finals also,” he added.

Prdeep Acharya was declared Man of the Match and received a trophy with 1,000 cash from DIG Ashok Shrestha.

On Thursday, The Aaha Gold Cup winner African United Club will meet Knight Chess Club in the other semifinals.