Celvin and Dodoz socred in either half as the visiting side came from a goal down to beat the departmental team in the final and claim its maiden title in its second appearance. [break]This is the second time that Army has lost in the final of Budhasubba Gold Cup. Army had suffered defeat in the final during the 11th edition of the tournament as well.
As the champion Hong Kong bagged a purse of Rs 325,000 while Army received Rs 162,500.
Tek Bahadur Budhathoki had gave an early lead to the departmental team with a scorcher from the danger zone in Raju Tamang´s pass in the sixth minute. But Hong Kong leveled the scores in the 17th mintue as Celvin scored in Jagjeet Shrestha´s pass beating advancing Army custodian Ram Kumar Deuja.
Raju Tamang squandered a golden chance to restore Army´s lead in the 57th minute when he missed a spotkick. Dodoz, the African recruit for Hong Kong, scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute. Dodoz´s header in Jagjeet Shrestha´s pass entered the net after the ball slipped from custodian Deuja´s grips.
Sagar Thapa of Hong Kong was adjudged the man-of-the-match and received Rs 5,000.
Hong Kong coach Ang Tendi Sherpa said the performance of his side was as per the expectations. "There was good understanding among Dodoz, Jagjeet Shrestha and Celvin," said Sherpa, adding, "The strong support of local spectators also motivated us to perform better."
Army coach Saila Maharjan said the missed penalty became the turning point of the match. "The match was in a 50/50 situation and to miss the penalty was unfortunate," said Maharjan, who blamed custodian Deuja´s errors for both the goals conceded by his team.
Meanwhile, Prakash Budhathoki of the host Dharan FC was declared the best player of the tournament and received a Yamaha motorbike. He also received Rs 15,000 from Sunrise Bank. Budhathoki had played a key role in guiding the home team to the semifinals scoring a goal in the quarterfinal and two goals in the semifinal.
Similarly, the best players in four different positions -- goalkeeping, defense, midfield, forward -- and the best coach were awarded Rs 10,000 each. Tek Bahadur Budhathoki of Army was the highest scorer of the tournament and bagged Rs 20,000.
Best player award
Prakash Budhathoki of Dharan: Best player
Bikesh Kutu of Hong Kong: Best keeper
Sagar Thapa of Hong Kong: Best defense
Jagjeet Shrestha of Hong Kong: Best midfielder
Dodoz of Hong Kong: Best forward
Narad Rai of Hong Kong: Best coach
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
