Tikendra Thapa shines as Church Boys edges NRT in tiebreaker

POKHARA: Church Boys United secured a place in the quarterfinals of the 24th Aha Rara Pokhara Gold Cup Football Tournament after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over New Road Team (NRT) on Thursday. Goalkeeper Tikendra Thapa emerged as the match-winner, saving three penalties in sudden death and converting one himself.

The match went to the tiebreaker after 90 minutes of regulation time, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate, and 30 minutes of extra time failed to separate the two sides. Both teams converted four penalties each before the contest moved into sudden death. Tikendra saved three penalties, while NRT’s Bishal Sunar managed two saves.

In the shootout, Church Boys United’s Nabin Lama, Milan Rai, Akins Baffour, Abayomi Fakunle, Prashant Laksham, and Tikendra Thapa found the net. However, Sakal Regmi, Serge Dika and Raj Bhusal missed their attempts. For NRT, Anjan Bista, Jaya Gurung, Sumit Shrestha, Vishal Sunar, and Rajiv Lopchan converted, while Angel Maharjan, Janamaya Dhami, Richard Wilson and Michael Magar failed to score.

Earlier, NRT took the lead in the 25th minute when Richard Wilson capitalized on a rebound after Tikendra parried Kritish Ratna Chhunju’s powerful strike. Church Boys United equalized in the 63rd minute through a penalty by Nabin Lama after NRT’s Naresh Chaudhary fouled Manish Jarga Magar inside the box.

Church Boys United will now face former champions Tribhuvan Army Football Club in the quarterfinal on February 10.