MMC beat Army in tiebreaker to reach Aaha Rara Gold Cup final

By a Staff Reporter

Kathmandu – Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) secured a place in the final of Aaha Rara Gold Cup defeating Tribhuvan Army Football Club in tiebreaker on Thursday.

MMC saw off Army 4-3 to reach the final of this tournament for the 12^th time. The outcome of the match was decided through penalty shootout after the regular as well as added time ended without any goals.

During the tiebreaker, MMC’s Franklin Kuette Talla, Shiva Gurung, Rupesh KC and Olawale Oladipo Afeez scored goals from spot kick. Similarly, Army’s captain Bharat Khawas, George Prince Karki and Bivek Basnet were on target for the departmental team. On the other hand, a shot from Army’s Deepak Gurung hit the pole and returned back while Yuddha Shahi’s attempt was foiled by MMC goalkeeper Ashok Baral.

Earlier, MMC missed the chance to take lead in the 10^th minute when Bimal Rana missed a penalty. MMC were awarded the spot kick after Yuddha Shahi handled the ball inside the penalty area in an attempt to clear a shot from Adelaza Somide. But captain Bimal Rana’s shot skied off.

Army also had a golden opportunity to score in the 35^th minute but missed the chance. Bivek Basnet could not score from the penalty box while a second attempt by George Prince Karki was punched away by goalkeeper Ashok Baral. Captain Bharat Khawas also missed a header from a rebound.

MMC will now face APF in the title clash on Saturday. APF had stunned A Division League leaders Machhindra 3-1 in the other semifinal to secure a place in the final.

A total of 10 teams including 8 from the A Division League were registered for the 20^th edition of Aaha Rara Gold Cup. The winner of the tournament will bag a purse of Rs 1 million while the runnerup will receive Rs 501,000. The cost of organizing the event is expected to reach Rs 10.06 million.

The event is being organized since the last 21 years. The surplus amount collected from the tournament will be provided to the Surya Bahadur Memorial Sahara Football Academy. The academy is currently training the third batch of 24 children from 14 different district. The children have been receiving training, education and health facilities free of cost since the last eight years.