Nawayug Shrestha struck the solitary goal as Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) broke local hearts to edge Jhapa XI 1-0 in the final of Jhapa Gold Cup here at the Domalal Rajbanshi Stadium on Saturday.

The win saw TAC grab a cash purse of Rs 600,000 which is so far the highest cash prize  in the tournaments organised outside Kathmandu. Jhapa got Rs 300,000.  Shrestha, the new face of Nepali football, scored the winner in the 17th minute that ultimately proved to be a decider.

Shrestha was calm in TAC’s first two matches but came up with an influential show in the championship match and later walked away with man-of-the-final award. When Jhapa were still to come with a notable attack in the game, Shrestha collected a pass from Bimal Rana Magar before slamming home the winner. 

The early goal woke Jhapa from their slumber and they soon began to press for equaliser but were denied all the time. Karna Limbu, Bishal Rai, Yogesh Gurung and Narendra Limbu failed to score inside the first 40 minutes. Jhapa were given a golden opportunity to score when they earned a free kick at the edge of the area just before the half time after Jitendra Karki tripped Sanjog Rai. 

Sanjog stepped up for the kick but his shot sailed few inches above the bar. On the other side, Rana, skipper Bharat Khawas, Shrestha and Karki failed to score in the first half. Both teams created several scoring chances in the second half but the final score line remained the same.

Jhapa coach Bhagirath Ale blamed his defenders for the loss. “Our boys played well today but one defensive lapse took the match away from us,” said Ale. TAC coach Chun Bahadur Thapa said his plans to go for an all attack from the beginning worked. “We wanted to put Jhapa under pressure and we managed to do that with our attacking game,” said Thapa who guided TAC to their first title of the year.

Karna Limbu of Jhapa was adjudged the best player of the tournament and rode a motorbike worth Rs 200,000. He also received a cash prize of Rs 25,000 as tournament’s highest scorer. Final match scorer and striker Shrestha, coach Thapa and goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu were named best in their positions. Devendra Tamang (defender),Yogesh Gurung (midfielder) and Sanjog (emerging player) were other winners. 

NPC also walked away with the Fair Play Team award. All individual awards carried a cash purse of Rs 25,000. The organisers also honoured Jhapa’s Bishal Rai and Ananta Tamang with Rs 25,000 for their influential performance in Nepal’s triumphant title campaigns during the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and 12th South Asian Games men’s football.