DHANGADHI, MARCH 6
Friends Club defeated Avenir Football Club 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals of the fifth Chief Minister Sudurpashchim Khaptad Gold Cup here at the Dhangadhi Stadium today.
Jamoul Anthony Francois scored a brace for the A division football club against a toothless side from Cameroon.
After a goalless first half, Francois put Friends ahead in the 53rd minute before doubling the tally from the spot nine minutes later.
Francois was named the player of the match and he received Rs 10,000. Friends will now play against the winners of the match between Machhindra FC and Bagmati Youth Club. On Monday, hosts Sudurpashchim-XI Sports Club will take on Himalayan Sherpa Club. Friends coach Mrigendra Mishra lauded his players' teamwork. "We were totally unaware of the opponents and we assessed their performance in the first half.
We made a plan in the break and we were able to score goals in the second half," said Mishra. Avenir FC coach Ashik Thapa said the players were not able to perform as expectations due to fatigue.
"The players arrived here yesterday after a long travel and half of the team members got stuck in Turkey. We had to manage a couple of local players to complete the squad," he said.
A total of 10 teams are taking part in the tournament organised by Sudurpashchim-XI Sports Club. Top two teams will earn Rs 2.1 million and one million rupees respectively. The player of the series will get Rs 100,000, while the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward, highest scorer, coach and fair play team will receive Rs 25,000 each.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
