Sunsari, February 12

Dharan Football Club advanced to the semi-finals of the 21st Budha Subba Red Bull Gold Cup following their 2-0 victory over Dalhousie Athletic Club of Kolkata here at the Dharan Stadium today.

Milan Rai and Bartaman Rai scored a goal each for the hosts in the third quarter-final match of the tournament. Dharan will now face CMG Club Sankata on Thursday for a place in the final.

Milan opened the scoring for the home side in the ninth minute when he collected a miss pass from opponents at the centre of the pitch and guided the ball alone before slotting home. Bartaman doubled the lead in the 23rd minute following a long pass from defender Yogesh Rai. Bartaman was named the man of the match and he received Rs 15,000.

Dharan also wasted a couple of chances in front of home crowd. Dalhousie goalkeeper S Singh denied Hemant Thapa Magar in the 24th minute. Saujan Limbu saw his strikes saved by the Koltata-based club’s custodian a minute later. Milan Rai wasted a chance four minutes into the second half following a pass from Bartaman Rai, whie Bartaman’s attempt was saved by Dalhousie keeper Singh in the 42nd minute.

Dalhousie created a couple of opportunities but they failed to find the back of the nets. A Roy ended up with a wayward shot from close range in the 32nd minute on a pass from D Alena, while Dharan goalkeeper Binay Shrestha brilliantly punched out the powerful shot from Anishde Vaillent in the 11th minute of the second half.

Dharan coach Sagar Ghimire lauded his team for the best show in the history of the tournament.

“This is the best performance of Dharan FC in the history of Budha Subba Gold Cup and it easily exceeded my expectations,” he said.

Dalhousie coach Supriya Das said the luck was not on his team’s part and the early goal made the difference in the match. “We played good football but the players just could not find the back of the nets,” Das said.

On Wednesday, Nepal APF Club will take on Dauphins Club of Cameroon — who won Manakamana Cable Car Pokhara Cup on Sunday — in the final quarter-final match.