The fate of the winner was decided in sudden death after the regulation time and extra time ended in 1-1 stalemate, and tie breaker ended in a 4-4 draw.
Milan Rai, Ganesh Lawati, Jangbo Sherpa and Rajendra Rawal converted from their spot kicks during the tiebreaker for APF while Man Bahadur Tamang's strike was denied by goalkeeper Dilip Chhetri.
Similarly, Kalu Thapa missed from the spot for Rupandehi while Peter, Dona Thapa, Dilen Loktan and Dilip converted.
In sudden death, Sunil Lama and Ramesh Dangal converted the first two spot kicks for APF while Ganesh Khadka and Victor were also successful in scoring for Rupandehi. Santosh Shrestha missed the next strike for APF while African recruit Segun also failed to convert for Rupandehi. Rup Kumar Lama converted the ninth strike from the spot for APF while Nagendra Mani Limbu missed for Rupandehi.
With the win, APF bagged a purse of Rs 201,111 along with the trophy and certificates while runner-up Rupandehi had to settle with Rs 101,111.
Earlier, APF was restricted to 10 men in the 76th minute after Sudip Shikhrakar used his hands to deny a header of Segun from goalline and was sent off by the referee. Kalu of Rupandehi converted the resulting penalty to give his team a 1-0 lead.
However, skipper Ganesh Lawati restored parity for APF two minutes from time after the departmental team was awarded penalty. Narendra, who missed the penalty in the sudden death, handled the ball inside the zone.
APF coach Janak Singh Tharu commented that his side had to wait until sudden death for the victory since the players were tired after playing continuous matches. Tharu's side had played the semifinal of Budhausbba Gold Cup on Wednesday and faced 2-3 defeat against Manang Marshyangdi Club.
Tharu's counterpart Dayaram Sapkota of Rupandehi said that his side was unfortunate to face defeat.
Man Bahadur Tamang of APF was declared the man-of-the-match of the final while Shiva Shrestha of Rupandehi was declared best player of the tournament. Similarly, Rupesh Kumar Lama, Amrit Chaudhary and Janak Singh Tharu of APF were named the best midfielder, goalkeeper and coach respectively. Rupendahi forward Victor won the best forward award and Rajendra Rawal of APF took the highest scorer award for his five goals.
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