Sunsari, March 18
Defending champions Sagarmatha Football Club made a winning start in the 13th International Invitational Itahari Gold Cup here at the Itahari Stadium today.
Sagarmatha defeated Avenir FC 4-3 in penalty shootout after both the teams failed to score in regulation period.
Rajiv Lopchan, Msuke, Abishek Rai and Abishek Limbu scored for Sagarmatha, while sipper Yannik Owona, Gini and Sanghu converted from the spot for Avenir.
Saba Ali struck against the crossbar, while Joe Aldo's shot was saved by Sagarmatha's substitute goalkeeper Cheng Thebe, who came in place of Dev Limbu. Sagarmatha's Msuke was named the player of the match and he earned Rs 10,000.
Earlier, both teams created ample scoring opportunities in the match but they were not able to find the back of the nets.
Sagarmatha coach Yam Gurung was satisfied with the players' performance in the opening match of the tournament. "We were forced to wait until the penalty shootout despite performing well in the regulation period," said Gurung.
Avenir coach Ashik Thapa Magar rued the missed opportunities. "The boys played well but we got ousted from the first match as the players could not convert the chances that came their way in the normal time," he said. "And the luck was not on our part in the shootout," added Thapa Magar.
On Sunday, hosts Rashtriya Jagriti Club will take on A division outfit Church Boys United. A total of eight teams are taking part in the tournament.
Top two teams of the tournament will receive one million rupees and Rs 500,000 respectively.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
