Morang Football Club secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Birat Gold Cup football tournament with a 3-1 win over Rupandehi XI here on Friday.

Bijay, Dhimal, skipper Dipak Rai and Rupesh KC scored for Morang while Shiva Shrestha replied for Rupandehi. Morang will play Sikkim Football Club of India for a place in the semi-finals.

Dhimal put Morang ahead in the capitalizing on a pass from Martial in the 32nd minute. The goal came seven minutes after Morang skipper Rai squandered a goal-scoring opportunity in a solitary encounter with Rupandehi goalkeeper Dilip Chhetri.

It took Morang just three minutes after break to double their lead. Rai converted a pass from Nirajan Khadka to make it 2-0 but Rupandehi reduced the margin in the 58th minute. Rupandehi were awarded a penalty after Chico tripped Victor inside the danger zone. Shrestha stepped in to convert the spot kick for Rupandehi.

Rupandehi went in attack and came close to scoring several times only for Morang custodian to deny them. They were also unlucky when Segun’s shot rebounded off the cross bar in the 70th minute. KC settled the nerves when he added the third goal for Morang in the 75th minute. KC cleverly scored the goal after seeing Rupandehi goalkeeper Dilip Chhetri out of his position.

Morang FC coach Sanjeev Budathoki rued his players’ lack of fitness. “We should have played much better than what we did today,’ said Budathoki. His Rupandehi counterpart Dayaram Sapkota said his team missed too many chances. “The game was evenly poised but we were made to pay for our missed chances,” said Sapkota.

The defending champions Jhapa XI will take on George Telegraph of Kolkata in the first quarter-final match on Saturday.