United Kharsang Football Club (UKFC) has reached the 25th Budha Subba Gold Cup semifinals after defeating hosts Dharan Football Club. In the second quarterfinal held at Dharan Stadium on Sunday, UKFC won in a sudden death penalty shootout.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time. Due to time constraints, the winner was decided directly through a penalty shootout. Both teams scored five penalties each, but in sudden death, Dharan’s Manoj Rai missed his shot, while Prajwal Thapa had scored earlier.
For UKFC, Akash Pradhan and Hemraj Bhujel scored on the sixth and seventh attempts. Bhujel had given UKFC the lead in the 18th minute, but Dharan’s Binod Rai equalized in the 40th minute.
Bhujel, who scored the decisive goal in sudden death, was named Player of the Match and received a cash prize of NPR 10,000. With this win, UKFC avenged last year’s defeat, when they lost to Dharan in sudden death by 10-9.