Lalitpur, June 12

Defending champions Tribhuvan Army Club won the title of the Lalit Memorial U-18 Football Tournament here at the ANFA Complex grounds today.

TAC defeated CMG Club Sankata 1-0 in the final riding on second half goal from Arik Bista. TAC had won the first edition of the tournament which is organised by All Nepal Football Association in memory of its Acting President Lalit Krishna Shrestha.

Bista found the back of the nets in the 52nd minute when he converted a free kick from 22 yards.

Although, Bista’s solitary goal was enough for TAC to win the title for the second time in a row, they wasted a couple of goal scoring chances.

TAC’s Dinesh Hemjan missed an opportunity from penalty box when his shot off Dorje Tamang’s cross went inches wide of the post in the 15th minute, while Hemjan wasted another chance in the 60th minute.

Sankata were unlucky as Dipesh Ale Magar failed to beat TAC goalie Arpan Karki in one-on-one situation inside the box and ended up with a wide shot in the third minute of the match.

Similarly, Devraj Tamang came close to scoring an equaliser but he failed to give a finish touch from the danger box in the 79th minute.

TAC coach Chakra Tamang lauded his players for following the team strategy to defend the title. “Our plan was to play attacking game at the beginning and adopt defensive approach after scoring goal,” said Tamang, who added that Sankata failed to put up a good show that they did during the group matches.

Sankata coach Sugan Tandukar rued the missed opportunities. “We had a golden opportunity to score goal in the beginning and we also missed a couple of chances during the match after putting up a good show against the armymen,” said Tandukar.

Champions TAC got Rs 300,000, while runners-up Sankata received Rs 150,000.

TAC’s Biswas Udas was named the best defender, Dinesh Yonjan was the best midfielder, Arpan Karki got the award of the best goalkeeper and Chakra Tamang was named the best coach. Similarly, Sankata’s Dipesh Ale Magar was adjudged the best forward.