Gaighat, February 14

Rupandehi-XI defeated Himalayan Sherpa Club 3-2 and advanced to the final of the fourth Rumpum Udayapur Gold Cup Football Tournament here at the Tharuhat Stadium today.

Deepak Rai scored a brace and Amar Dangol netted a goal for Rupandehi, while Bishwas Shrestha and Alex were the scorers for Himalayan Sherpa. In Thursday’s championship match, Rupandehi will play against Morang, who had defeated CMG Club Sankata 2-1 in the first semi-final match on Monday.

Dangol opened the scoring for Rupandehi in the 20th minute utilising a pass from Buddha Chemjong, while Rai doubled the tally in the 37th minute. Himalayan Sherpa cut the deficit when Shrestha found the back of the nets in the 83rd minute, while Rupandehi’s Rai restored the lead with his second goal of the match in the first minute of injury time.

Himalayan Sherpa’s Alex scored in the second minute of the injury time but it was too late for them to avert the defeat. Rupandehi’s Deepak Rai was named the man-of-the-match and received Rs 5,000.