APF stops Army in Jhapa Gold Cup final

In the match held at the Domalal Rajvanshi Stadium in Birtamod, the four-time title winner Army was stopped in the semi-finals this time due to an own goal. In the 70th minute of the game, APF's foreign player Fode Fofona's hard shot hit Army's Sriram Choudhary, and it went goalless. Fofona charged the corner ball to the goal post. APF, which has reached the final, has secured at least 7 lakh rupees.

This is the second time APF has won against Army this season. Earlier, Army lost to APF in Bagmati Gold Cup as well. In the competitive game, both teams failed to convert the opportunities into goals. In the 25th minute, APF's goalkeeper Anjal Shrestha punched a hard shot by Army's Fateman Ghale and sent it out. In the 42nd minute, Anish Maharjan could not put the ball in the frame after receiving the pass from Fofona of APF.

In the 47th minute, APF's Serge Song's shot went wide of the post. In the 55th minute, Anish did not head the ball that he got inside the box. In the 69th minute, a shot from the penalty area by Wichidar Rai went wide. In the 78th minute, Army's Navyug Shrestha's header went wide of the post. Soon after, Navayug's second header, which got the ball again through Army's Fateman's pass, was also wasted.

After losing the lead, Army became aggressive in the last 20 minutes. However, his strikers could not attack the APF goal post in the opportunities they got. Army coach Meghraj KC said that the result was lost because the midfielder and striker line could not run. He said that he did not play as expected and it was unfortunate that he did not score.

The coach of the winning team APF, Sushil Adhikari, said that the result was happy because the players played hard. He commented that if they could stop the army from scoring, it was their victory. He opined that the foreign players also played well and reached the finals of the Gold Cup. Fode Fofona of APF was the player of the match in the

game. He received Rs 11,000 in cash. The home team Jhapa-11 and Church Boys United will compete in the second semi-final of the Gold Cup on Saturday. The Gold Cup organizing committee arranged for women to watch the Gold Cup free of charge on Friday on the occasion of International Women's Day. The winner of the Gold Cup, which will run until the 28th, will receive cash of Rs.13 lakh and the runner-up will receive cash of Rs.7 lakh and a trophy.