NRT speedster Sunil Subedi provided Knight Chess Club (KCC) a late gasp goal to oust Indian invitee Eastern Railways Kolkata to enter the semifinals of the 4th Aaha Gold Cup Football Tournament in Pokhara stadium today.
The Indian team, who arrived in Pokhara late last night, was sluggish in the first quarter but started to gain momentum after Knight Chess Club took a lead in the 30th minute.
Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey
Raj Kumar Ghising vying forthe ball against an Indian player. nepalnews.com/bt
Raj Kumar KC was involved in the attack where he nearly got a superb goal, which rebounded to Sunil Subedi, who didn’t miss target to lead Jhapa based club that assembled many “A” Division players. The lemon break was refreshing for KCC as they were leading 1-0.
After the re-start, the Kolkata based club dominated and pressed to cut the deficit. Finally, they got the breakthrough through S Mandal in the 60th minute.
After both teams failed to break the deadlock till regulation time, referee Laba Khatri started the extra time which saw Knight Chess more lucky in the wee hours through Sunil Subedi to keep their trophy hopes alive.
Subedi found the match winning goal utilizing Raj Kumar Ghising’s pass from the right flank. Knight Chess will meet Mahendra Police Club in the semifinals.
“It was brilliant game but the boys had to toil hard to down Indian pressure,” KCC coach Indra Bahadur, brother of goalie Min Basnet, told SoccerageNepal. However, Indian coach Surjit Bose disclosed huge dissatisfaction with his boy’s performance. “We could have beaten them,” he said.
Referee Laba Khatri seemed busy with yellow cards throughout the match. He handed out nine yellow cards; six to Eastern Railways and three to KCC). N Rajbanshi of Eastern was sent off for his double yellow in the 93rd minute.
On Tuesday, tournament favorites African United Club, who just arrived in Pokhara this evening, will lock horns against Rupendehi XI for a semifinal berth.