Kathmandu, November 21

Himalayan Sherpa Club defeated 10-man NIBL Friends Club 3-1 to win the title of the first Chandragiri Gold Cup Football Tournament here at the Naikap grounds today.

Bishan Gurung, Piyush Henry and Cedric Aba scored a goal each for Harvest Moon Himalayan Sherpa after Lawal had opened the scoring for Friends.

After a goalless first half, Friends went ahead in the 61st minute through Lawal’s goal before they were reduced to 10 players. Rumesh Bartaula was expelled for second bookable offense moments after the team took the lead.

Friends came under press following the expulsion of Bartaule and Himalayan Sherpa took full advantage of the numeric advantage as they levelled the scores in the last minute before time and added two more in the extra period. Bishan Gurung scored the equaliser in the 90th minute from the box following a pass from his skipper Man Bahadur Tamang.

Himalayan Sherpa’s Piyush Henry scored in the 98th minute and Aba made it 3-1 in the 118th minute to seal the victory.

Friends scored one goal but they wasted couple of other chances. Lawal was denied by Himalayan Sherpa custodian Arpan Karki in the 34th minute and the custodian stood firm to stop the Friends striker in the 55th minute.

Similarly, Himalayan Sherpa skipper Tamang muffed up a chance in the 29th minute, while Heman Gurung’s shot in the 33rd minute was saved by Friends goalkeeper Ashish Thada Magar. Himalayan Sherpa’s African recruit Aba was named the man-of-the-final and he received Rs 3,000.

Champions Himalayan Sherpa earned Rs 500,000, while runners-up Friends took home Rs 250,000. Himalayan Sherpa’s Bishan Gurung was named the best player of the tournament, while Friends skipper Dhiraj Shrestha, who netted three goals, was the highest scorer. Gurung and Shrestha received Rs 30,000 each.

A total of eight teams competed in the knock out format tournament organised by Bright Youth Club under the sponsorship of Hero motorbike. National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista, Chandragiri Municipality Mayor Ghanashyam Giri and Bright Youth Club President Ramesh Budhathoki handed over the prizes to the winners.