KATHMANDU: Sankata Club edged Machhindra Club in sudden death in an entertaining semifinal on Monday to cruise into the final of President Cup Football Tournament at the Dasharath Stadium, Tripureshwar.

The regulation 90-minute period ended in a goalless draw leading to a direct penalty shootout which saw Sankata edged neighboring Machhindra after ninth strike from the spot.

The sudden death ensued after the tiebreaker ended 5-5 with all five players from both sides converting from spots.

In the sudden death, Sankata’s captain and goalkeeper, Deep Karki played a decisive role by saving Ayush Ghalan’s shot. For Machhindra, Dayanand Singh’s attempt went off-target. Sankata’s Emmanuel Boateng converted the decisive penalty, sealing the victory for his team.

Other Sankata players, including Ram Thapa, Srijan Chhetri, Santosh Khatri, Sam Carlos, Deep Karki, Abekah Richard, and Roshn Pahari, also successfully scored in the shootout.

players Samir Raj Thokar, Diwakar Chaudhary, Sanish Shrestha, Omolaja Nurin Kareem, Devendra Tamang, Tahiring Gurung, and Bimal Gharti Magar scored their penalties.

Sankata will compete for the title against the winner of the match between hosts’ Bagmati Province’s Nepal Democratic Sports Association and New Road Team (NRT).