Tribhuwan Army FC have made it to the semi-finals of the Local-level Martyr's Memorial Makwanpur Gold Cup 2079. Army defeated Nepal APF FC 5-4 on penalties at Piple Stadium in Hetauda to make it to the final four.

Army dominated the first half and were awarded a penalty after a handball from APF skipper Top Bahadur Bista. But Bibek Basnet's spot-kick was saved by APF goalkeeper Raju Nagarkoti and the first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, APF showed an improved performance but were wasteful in front of the goal. Against the run of play, Army were awarded yet another penalty and this time Dinesh Henjan stepped up to take the penalty and converted it.

But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, APF equalised through Sudeep Shikhrakar and pushed the match to penalties.

On penalties, Army's Deepak Gurung, Simanta Thapa Magar, Santosh KC, Kamal Bahadur Thapa and Dinesh Henjan converted their penalties. For APF, Nabin Lama, Sudeep Shikhrakar, Sanish Shrestha and Rabi Thing converted their kicks while Mani Lama's penalty was saved by Army goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu.

Bikesh Kuthu was named the player of the match and received Rs. 10,000.

Army will now face the winners between Church Boys Club and Avenir FC, Cameroon.

In tomorrow's fixture, Manang Marshyangdi Club will face Nepal Police Club for a place in the semi-finals.

The winner of the competition will get Rs 15 lakhs in cash along with the title while the runner-up will get Rs 10 lakhs. Similarly, those who excel in the individual category will also be given Rs 25,000 cash and a trophy each. The best player in the competition will get a motorcycle sponsored by the Hetauda School of Management.

A total of 12 teams including top clubs of the country are participating in the competition.