Patna: Sporting FC secured their place in the final of the Rekha Rai Memorial Patna District Junior Division Football League, where they will face Patna Academy on 2 February.
In the second semi-final, held at Sanjay Gandhi Stadium, Sporting FC triumphed over Study and Sports FC 5-4 in a dramatic penalty shootout. The match remained goalless during regular time. In extra time, Sporting FC took the lead in the 76th minute with a goal from Devendra Kishku. However, just before the end of the second period of extra time, Kshitij Prakash equalised for Study and Sports FC, forcing the match into a tiebreaker, where Sporting FC emerged victorious.
In the shootout, Ganesh Hembram, Ashish Marandi, Rajesh Marandi, and Mohan Kishku converted their penalties for Sporting FC, while Sonu Ranjan and Mohammad Sharafrazuddin missed. For Study and Sports FC, Kshitij Prakash, Gautam Kumar Singh, and Ankit Kumar found the net, but Ravi Kumar, Ashish Ranjan, and Sumit Kumar failed to score.
The match saw yellow cards issued to Mohammad Saqlain (Sporting FC) and Sumit Kumar (Study and Sports FC). Ashish Marandi of Sporting FC was named Player of the Match and received the award from advocate Pranjal Singh. The match officials were referees Amarjeet Kumar, Shubham Kumar Sharma, Sunil Kumar, and Harendra Prasad Yadav.