SPORTS REPORTER
JAMMU: In their maiden participation, the newly established professional side of Lone Star Kashmir qualified for the finals of the ongoing XXIII State Football Championship, organised by J&K Football Association at GGM Science College ground, here on Tuesday.
Now, Lone Star shall take on another professional and experienced side of J&K Bank on January eight at 2:00 PM at the same venue for the title clash.
Earlier, in the semifinals, played on Tuesday, Lone Star Kashmir outplayed District Football Association (DFA) Srinagar by a solitary goal. The only goal of the match came through Faizal, who struck in the very tenth minute of the play. The lead was well maintained in the very first half of the play. However, after the breather, DFA Srinagar missed a golden chance when Junaid failed in his attempt to convert a penalty kick into goal in the 44th minute.
Meanwhile, in other semifinal, J&K Bank trounced the competitive side of J&K Forests 4-3 in sudden death. In the stipulated time the match ended in a goalless draw, followed by barren extra time play of 15 minutes.
The game was so close that the tie breaker too could not yield any results. Rizwan, Manzoor and Umer scored from Forests while Danish, Thapa and Rizwan equalized from J&K Bank. In sudden death, Urfan netted the all important goal to guide the side to the final.