Bimal Gharti Magar, Bishal Rai and Nawayug Shrestha were on target for champion Nepal that has been hit hard by match fixing scandal. The victory has lifted the gloom cast by the involvement of five national players including former skipper Sagar Thapa in fixing matches, for which they were banned for life from football.
On Friday, Nepal scored an early goal in the first half and added two more in the second half of the game that saw both teams reduced to 10 players.
The last time Nepal had claimed a proper international football title was during the 1993 South Asian Games held in Bangladesh. Nepal (Red) had also claimed the Prime Minister Cup title in 2009 held in Kathmandu although the international tournament was also not recognized by FIFA as an official tournament.
Meanwhile, this is the second title for coach Bal Gopal Maharjan, who had helped the U-19 national team claim the title of the SAFF U-19 Championship held in Nepal last year.
Nepal took an early lead with Bimal scoring in the 5th minute. Bimal nicely slotted in the ball after Anjan Bista's header off Biraj Maharjan's cross landed in front of him near the post. This was Bimal's second goal for the team in the tournament following his goal against Sri Lanka in the group stage.
Bishal Rai doubled the advantage in the 87th minute as he netted from the box utilizing short pass from Anjan Bista. Bishal also scored two goals during the competition as his first goal was against the Maldives in the semifinal where Nepal crushed the opponent 4-1.
Bishal's goal came when both the teams were reduced to 10 men in the 81st minute. Nepal's Suman Lama and Bahrain's Althuwani were shown red cards by the referee for exchanging blows.
Finally, Nawayug sealed the victory netting in the added time of the second half (90+1st min).
Nawayug's brilliant header off Bimal's long cross found the Bahrain net with goalkeeper out of his position.
Nawayug, who had his first international hat-trick against the Maldives in the semifinal, became the highest goal scorer of the tournament with four goals.
Nawayug won the most valuable player award while Bimal was adjudged the man-of-the-final.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the trophy to the winning side.
Following the victory, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli congratulated the team issuing a press statement.
Champion Nepal bagged $50,000 along with the trophy, while runner-up Bahrain U-23 ended the journey with $25,000.
ANFA announces Rs 500,000 cash to the team members
All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on Friday announced that the football governing body will honor Nepali team members with Rs 500,000 each for claiming the title of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup.
As per the official twitter of ANFA, 20 players, two coaches and a physiotherapist will each get the amount as reward.
"ANFA announces prize money of Rs 500,000 to all 20 players, two coaches and physiotherapist of the team," reads a statement of ANFA.
Bal Gopal Maharjan is the head coach of the team while Upendra Man Singh is the goalkeeping coach. Raju Dahal is the physiotherapist.
Meanwhile, ANFA will organize a victory parade for the team on Saturday upon the arrival of the at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 13:00 NST.
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