Himalayan News Service

Lalitpur, March 13:

Sujan Limbu struck twice as Manang Marsyangdi Club (MMC) edged out Friends Club 4-3 in the final of the Nepal Bank Junior (Under-14) League Football Tournament, organised by ANFA under the sponsorship of Nepal Bank Ltd, here today. At ANFA Complex, MMC took an early lead through Sujan Limbu’s first-minute goal. Limbu found the net on a rebound after Friends goalkeeper Lal Kiran Dhungel failed to gather Pukar Ghatraj’s 25-yard free kick. Two minutes later, Limbu doubled the tally when he guided the ball alone from the centre before firing from the edge of the D-Box. Nirajan Malla reduced the margin to 2-1 in the fifth minute, when his powerful shot from the D-Box line kissed the net. In the 24th minute, Malla levelled the scores. The 17th goal of the Friends striker came when he dodged two defenders and MMC goalkeeper Mahendra Lama before firing into an open net.

After the 35-minute first half, Puran Limbu put MMC ahead in the 37th minute when he scored following Kiran Pratap Rai’s pass. Seven minutes later, Rai made it 4-2 when he scored on a rebound after Friends custodian Lal Kiran Dhungel punched the ball back into play. In the injury time, Nirajan Malla completed his hat-trick. Nirajan Malla of Friends Club was adjudged the best forward and also bagged the highest scorer’s award with 18 goals in seven matches of the tournament. Neeraj Magar of Friends was declared the best defender, Nabin Maharjan of Boys Union Club won the best goalkeeper award, and Pukar Ghatraj of Friends Club was adjudged the best midfielder.

Crown Prince Paras, who is also the patron of National Sports Council, gave away prizes to the winners. The champions received Rs 1,00,000 and the runner-up got a purse of Rs 50,000. The losing semi-finalists — Jawalakhel Youth Club and New Road Team — were given Rs 25,000 each. Minister for Education and Sports Radha Krishna Mainali, NSC member secretary Kishor Bahadur Singh and ANFA president Ganesh Thapa were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, ANFA gave away Rs 7,000 to each player who participated in the Under-14 Festival of Football held in Kathmandu last year.