Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) entered the semi-finals of the Jhapa Gold Cup with a 4-0 victory over New Road Team (NRT) on Thursday.

In a duel between the two ‘A’ Division clubs at the Domalal Stadium, Nirajan Malla scored twice for MMC, while African recruit Oladipo Olawale Afeez and Sushil Lama added one each. MMC, who claimed the Aaha-Rara Gold Cup in Pokhara on Saturday, will play Tribhuvan Army Club in last-four clash.

MMC boasted six national team footballers in their squad and their strength was evident as they dominated from the outset. Malla put MMC ahead in the 25th minute scoring on a cross from Afeez. Two minutes later, Sushil Lama made it 2-0 with once again Afeez setting up the goal. NRT were yet to recover from the early goals and Malla turned the things from bad to worse scoring from the area on a cross from Lama in the 37th minute.

After some excellent work in the first half, Afeez was finally able to notch up his first goal of the day scoring in the 59th minute on a cross from Bishal Rai. The win-margin could have been even bigger had they not missed few more scoring chances. NRT’s only notable chance came in the 30th minute when Prabin Gurung’s powerful shot from outside the area sailed just inches above the bar. Rohit Chand of MMC was adjudged the man-of-the-match.

NRT coach Shyam Mali said his side was not well-prepared for the clash. “We had little time to prepare and we were not able to match the strength of MMC,” said Mali. MMC coach Chhiring Lhopsang Gurung said the weakness of the opponents helped his team. In the first semi-final match on Friday, hosts Jhapa XI will take on Himalayan Sherpa Club of Kathmandu.