By Sachit Subba • Football • Apr 22, 2026 13:12 PM • 41 views
JHAPA – In a display of tactical resilience and sheer firepower, Nepal Police Club (NPC) overcame a catastrophic early setback to storm into the semifinals of the Om Sai Pathibhara Hospital Chandragadi Women's Gold Cup. Despite being reduced to ten players just 14 minutes into the match, the departmental side dismantled India's Rani Laxmibai Football Academy with a commanding 5-1 victory. The win sets the stage for a mouth-watering semifinal clash against their perennial rivals, Tribhuvan Army Football Club—a fixture widely regarded as one of the most prestigious derbies in Nepali domestic football. The match at Bhadrapur took a dramatic turn in the 14th minute when NPC goalkeeper Usha Nath was shown a straight red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area. The dismissal forced a tactical reshuffle, with Sahara Limbu sacrificed to bring on substitute keeper Sapna Rai. Rani Laxmibai immediately exploited the ensuing chaos; Bini Kumari's stinging free-kick forced a rebound from Rai, which Hemanti Kumari instinctively buried to give the Indian academy a shock lead. For a brief period, the shorthanded Police side appeared rattled, struggling to find their rhythm as they grappled with the numerical disadvantage.
However, the momentum shifted decisively in the 38th minute when Rekha Paudel rose highest to meet a Mina Deuba cross, powering a header home to restore parity. From that moment, the "Cops" asserted total dominance. Shortly after the interval, Captain Amrita Jaisi pounced on a loose ball following a fumbled corner by Rani Laxmibai's keeper, Rupali Kumari, to give NPC the lead. The floodgates opened in the 53rd minute as Samjhana Lawati finished a slick delivery from Puja Rana, effectively ending the contest as a spectacle. The closing stages belonged to the irrepressible Puja Rana, whose Player of the Match performance orchestrated the rout. In the 67th minute, Rana's pinpoint free-kick found Paudel, who unselfishly teed up Mina Deuba for the fourth. Rana then capped off her stellar afternoon in stoppage time with a spectacular long-range effort from the halfway line that slipped through the goalkeeper's fingers to seal the 5-1 scoreline. Beyond the immediate glory, the stakes for this tournament remain historic; with a winner's purse of 1.1 million Rupees, it stands as the most lucrative prize in the history of Nepali women's club football, elevating the prestige of every goal scored at Chandragadi.
