Butwal, February 25

Harvest Moon Himalayan Sherpa Club advanced to the semi-finals of the 19th Tilottama Gold Cup Football Tournament here at the ANFA Technical Centre grounds in Devi Nagar today.

Himalayan Sherpa defeated Rumpum Jhapa-XI 2-1 in extra time after the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 in the regulation period of 90 minutes. Chetan Kumar Tharu and Alex scored for Himalayan Sherpa, while Sanjog Rai netted a goal for Jhapa.

Tharu opened the scoring for Himalayan Sherpa in the 37th minute but their joy short-lived as Rai levelled the scores four minutes later. After both the teams failed to score in the second half, the match went to extra time. Alex scored the winning goal for Himalayan Sherpa in the 110th minute of the match. Alex won the man-of-the-match award.

Himalayan Sherpa will now face the winners of the match between Nepal APF Club and CMG Club Sankata for a place in the final. On Sunday, hosts Agni Rupandehi-XI will play against Dharan FC of Sunsari in another quarter-final match of the tournament.