Bara, February 12

Ruslan Three Star Club defeated Farwest Sports Club of Dhangadhi 4-2 in tie-breaker to enter the semi-finals of the ninth Ruslan Simara Gold Cup here today.

The match was decided on penalties after both the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 in the regulation period of 90 minutes.

Rajin Dhimal, Buddha Chemjong, skipper Nirajan Khadka and Sunil Bal converted their shots from the spot for Three Star, while only Narendra Chaudhary ad Rakesh Hamal scored for Farwest. Man-of-the-match Three Star goalkeeper Alan Neupane saved Jeevan Chaudhary’s shot, while Farwest skipper Chetan Tharu hit the woodwork.

Earlier, Biswas Shrestha put Three Star ahead in the first half when he found the back of the nets following a perfect pass from Nirajan Khadka. At a time when the match heading towards the end, Farwest’s Maniram Chaudhary produced a moment of brilliance and netted the equaliser on a pass from his skipper Chetan Tharu.

Three Star came close to opening the scoring in the fourth minute but their foreign recruit Ajayi Martins applied a feeble shot from close following a pass from skipper Nirajan Khadka.

Peter Segun headed over the bar on Sunil Bal’s corner in the 25th minute, while the latter wasted a chance two minutes later. Likewise, Rajin Dhimal ended up hitting wide from the box in the 30th minute, while Biswas Shrestha, fed by Martins, muffed another opportunity three minutes later.

After the break, Shrestha should have doubled the tally but he failed to control Buddha Chemjong’s cross in one-on-one situation with Farwest custodian Jeevan Bhattarai in the 48th minute.

Farwest, who were busy defending the ball in the first half, created a couple of chances in the latter half and also scored a goal. In a notable move of the first half, Three Star goalkeeper Neupane saved the ball from goalline to deny Jeevan Chaudhary in the 39th minute.

Madhav Bhandari missed a chance to level the scores in the 50th minute when his shot from inside the penalty area sailed over the bar, while Three Star keeper Neupane punched out a powerful strike from Bhandari in the 57th minute. Phillip Tamang failed to beat Neupane in one-on-one with Neupane following a cross from Bhandari in the 72nd minute.

On Tuesday, defending champions CMG Club Sankata will play against Birgunj United Club in the last quarter-final match.