Sagarmatha Youth Club Morang and Machindra Football Club will compete for the title of the 15th edition of Control Itahari Gold Cup Football Tournament. Sagarmatha Youth defeated Dharan Football Club 1-0 in the semi-final on Thursday and confirmed the title clash with Machindra.
Kuldeep Karki scored the decisive goal to send Everest to the final for the third time in the match at Itahari Stadium. He scored a penalty in the 29th minute of the match.
After Vikram Dhimal of Dharan fouled Sushil Rai of Everest in the 26th minute, Kuldeep did not waste the penalty opportunity. After the goal, the match was interrupted for 10 minutes when Dharan's coach Hem Gurung and the players expressed their displeasure with the referee Kavin Vyanjankar's decision to award a penalty.
Sagarmatha, who took the lead in the first half, maintained it until the end and the trip to the final was assured. Dharan did not capitalize on the two opportunities they had in the first half. Tapan Karki missed a goal in the fifth minute of the game. His low shot was easily controlled by Everest's goalkeeper Purna Chemjong.
In the 12th minute Milan Limbu's shot hit the bar. For the rest of the time, Dharan could not create any scoring opportunities. Sagarmatha also failed to increase the lead after wasting two opportunities in the first half. In the 21st minute, Daniel failed to score the ball that was fired by goalkeeper Pravin Limbu. In the 24th minute, Richard could not score when the goalkeeper was beaten.
Dharan could not increase the pressure on Sagarmatha who played defensively for the rest of the time. The title of Mount Everest became a sure bet. Man of the match was Kuldeep. He got 10,000 prize. The final between Sagarmatha and Machindra will be held on Saturday. Machindra has already come close to the title after defeating United Kharsang Football Club (UKFC) India 3-1.
