Thimphu City FC bought themselves time and hope to reach the semi-final against all odds after the thrashed Quess East Bengal Academy FC 4-0 yesterday.

The 4-0 drubbing was their best performance in a must-win game, knocking Quess East Bengal Academy FC on the way. They are now level on points with table toppers Paro FC. Their fate however will be decided on January 21 when Paro FC plays Prince FC in the final group stage match of pool B. 

If Paro FC wins, Thimphu City will join the former in the semi-finals. A win for Prince FC means the end of Thimphu City FC’s sojourn in the ongoing Samtse championship.

Thrashing the unbeaten team in the tournament, Quess East Bengal Academy FC , and going out would be a huge disappointment for Thimphu FC. Quess East Bengal Academy FC played Thimphu City FC after securing 1-1 draw against Paro FC and 2-2 draw against Prince FC in group stage round.

While it was the first win for Thimphu City FC after securing a draw against Prince FC and a loss against Paro FC in the group stage, Quess East Bengal Academy FC recorded their worst result in the championship.

The team will be facing the top two teams from group A, which has Transport United FC, Pran Jaigaon FC, and Ugyen Academy FC competing for the semi-final spots.

The final group stage match between Thimphu City FC and Quess East Bengal Academy FC of pool B, saw Sampa Tshering from Thimphu City score the fastest goal of the championship within one minute.

Thimphu City FC settled for the first half with a two-goal lead after Chimi Dorji netted the second goal in the final minutes of the half.

The latter half saw the Red’s new face, Tenzin Norbu former U-19 player score his first goal for Thimphu City FC in what can be called as his most competitive game.

Skipper, Tshering Dorji scored his second goal of the championship to end the game 4-0 in favour of Thimphu City FC yesterday.

The team captain said that the match against Quess East Bengal Academy FC was an important game.

“The first game against Prince FC ended in adraw and we lost the second match to Paro FC. The third game was a must win for us,” he said. “It was the first win for us and we are happy with the game. However, we will have to wait until January 21 to decide our semi-final spot.”

With no wins secured in the championship to date, Samtse DSA XII, and Gairkata FC from West Bengal suffered early elimination from the championship without even completing their group stage playoffs.

The two will play each other to record the first win of the championship today.

Considered as one of the biggest football competitions in the country, the championship saw nine clubs from Bhutan and India, five from Bhutan and four from West Bengal, in its first edition that started from January 6.

The first edition of the championship saw the teams from Bhutan dominating both groups of the championship so far.

Nima