NCC held their opponents under pressure with an early goal in the first half. Indra Bogati, who was later adjudged the best forward, scored the first goal in the fifth minute. NCC missed another good opportunity in the 30th minute as Xavier´s custodian Raj Kumar Chaudhary punched Gautam Deula´s free kick above the bar. Xavier had a chance to strike back in the 35th minute but Shree Krishna Khadka´s flick got misplaced. [break]
Xavier appeared better in the second half but suffered an own goal in the 50th minute. Ramesh Dangal attempted to pass the ball to the goalkeeper Raj Kumar as their opponents neared the post but his header went straight into the nets.
Two minutes before the goal, NCC´s Niresh Dulal was booked as referee found Dulal intentionally handled the ball.
NCC´s Siddhi Shrestha sealed the match with the third goal in the 65th minute. He took the ball past the defenders of Xavier and volleyed it into the net from the box. Xavier made some desperate attempts to strike back but couldn´t finish. Dikesh Khadgi of Xavier shot on target two minutes after conceding the third goal but was blocked by NCC goalkeeper Navin Shrestha, who bagged the best goalkeeper award. Shree Krishna had another good chance to strike back in the 36th minute but missed a good cross from Rabi Prajapati. Substitute player Jangbo Sherpa also played well in the dying minutes but was unable to score.
Earlier, Golden Gate College defeated Patan Multiple Campus 4-1 to claim the third position.
Golden Gate took the lead with Shiva Shrestha´s goal in the 27th minute. Subash Gurung scored an equalizer five minutes later but Shiva scored another goal in the dying minutes (42nd minute) of the first half. Bishal Rai added to Golden Gate´s advantage in the 53rd minute while Sujal Shrestha sealed the match with the fourth goal in the 80th minute.
Shiva was declared the best midfielder while NCC´s Saroj Dahal was named the best defender.
The top three teams received the trophy and medals as well as cash prizes of Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively from UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal. Altogether 73 teams had participated in the inter-college football tournament that began on December 7.
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