Pokhara, May 3:

Carlsberg Manang Marsyangdi Club (MMC) clinched the first Pepsi Seven-A-Side international Football trophy with a narrow 1-0 win over hosts Pokhara ‘A’ here at the Pokhara Stadium today.

Pankaj Lama scored the winner nine minutes into the extra time after a 0-0 draw in the regular 50 minutes of play. Lama’s solitary effort saw the MMC striker beat Pokhara goalie Sanjeev Shrestha before firing in the decider. Lama was drafted into the side after Prashant Giri was ineligible to play after being booked twice coming into the final.

MMC were unlucky in numerous occasions, while they also hit the woodwork in the sixth, 18th, 21st and 29th minute. After disheartening first half, Pokhara looked a different team altogether.

The hosts also wasted quite a few chances in the latter half before ultimately going down in the extra time. Tilak Gurung of Pokhara was declared the man of the match.

MMC coach Chhiring Lopsang Gurung praised the opponent team for their game. “We knew that the match would be tough but we were confident of out victory,” added Gurung. He said that both the teams played superbly but the only difference was the extra-time goal ,” he said.

Tashi Chhiring of MMC won the best player award while Herrick Boys of UK claimed the most discipline team award.

Winner MMC won a cheque of Rs 75,000 while runner up Pokhara ‘A’ earned Rs 50,000. Minister for Local Development Dev Gurung among others gave away the awards.