New signing Adama Boh Sissoki and Zikahi Dodoz scored either side of the break for the top-flight team. MMC will now take on Tribhuvan Army Club for a place in the final on Thursday.

MMC—playing their first match after the Birat Gold Cup where they crashed out from the semi-finals two weeks earlier—failed were far from their usual best in the first half. MMC looked poised to end the first half without a goal until Sissoki scored in the first minute of the injury time. He headed home a corner from Sulav Maskey.

Munal—the Jhapa District League champions who have been trying to earn some reputation by competing in various local events in the Eastern region—gave a tough challenge to their much stronger opponents. But the inexperience of playing the top level football cost them the match as they conceded the second goal in the dying moment of the game, just as they did in the first half. This time it was Dodoz, who scored for MMC on a solo effort.

MMC were without their first team regulars Nirajan Malla, Anil Gurung, Bishal Rai ‘B’, Biraj Maharjan and Shiva Shrestha as the players are currently undergoing training for Nepal’s fifa World Cup 2018 preliminary qualifier against India.

Earlier, Munal custodian Kishore Giri had punched away Lionel Stephen’ powerful shot in the fourth minute before Ravi Paswan followed up to shoot off target in the rebound. Stephen was denied again when Suren Thapa cleared his shot through a fine header four minutes later. Paswan was also unlucky when he found the woodwork a few minute later.

MMC coach Raju Kaji Shakya said his side were not unable to score more goals in the absence of their key players. “We had to do with fresh players. We won the match but our game was well below par,” added the MMC coach.

Munal coach Ghambir Rai did not hide his disappointment over his misfiring strikers. “We had some foreign recruits in our team especially for the tournament but not even they put on impressive performance,” said Rai. Hosts Dharan Football Club will play Nepal Armed Police Force Club in the first semi-final on Wednesday.