In the final played at ANFA Technical Center, Sahukhala struck the winner in the 32nd minute. Sahukhala made a brilliant finishing in a pass of Bishan Gauchan helping Three Star equall the record of Nepal Police Club for most wins. [break]With the victory on Saturday, the title went to Three Star for the fourth time.
The defeat also ended MMC´s winning streak of 14 matches. MMC was undefeated following 1-0 defeat at the hands of Himalayan Sherpa during National League in Pokhara.
Three Star had earlier won the titles in 2061 BS, 2063 BS and 2065 BS while MMC was the winner of last edition and 2060 BS. In last one and half year, MMC had met Three Star five times and MMC had not won single match - drawing one and losing four others.
"We were able to win the title due to good team work and understanding among players," Three Star´s coach Meghraj KC said adding, "We arrived here for victory and were rewarded for our hard works."
Regarding the opponent, KC said, "Manang also played well, but they seemed to take us lightly thinking that they could win easily."
"The victory will be very beneficial to the club and player for enrolling players for the new season," KC said.
KC´s counterpart Hari Om Shrestha blamed weak midfield as the reason for defeat. "The midfield could not play well and the nature was also against us as air blew from opposite direction."
In the highly competitive and entertaining match from start to finish, both the teams created few scoring chances. MMC could have taken an early lead had not Amir Shrestha´s freekick hit the crossbar in the sixth minute.
Anil Gurung squandered another golden opportunity for MMC three minutes before interval as he fired above bar in one-on-one with custodian Kiran Chemjong in pass from Jacob, an African recruit for MMC. In the second half African player Olawala O Afeez and Anil Gurung squandered one scoring chance apiece.
In the 66th minute, Sahukhala nearly doubled the tally taking advantage of misunderstanding of MMC defenders. Sahukhala´s strike went out after deflecting off goalie Bishal Shrestha and then hit the post.
Along with the trophy, Three Star bagged a purse of Rs 250,000 while MMC received Rs 150,000. Three Star custodian Kiran Chemjong was declared the man-of-the-match of final and awarded with cash prize of Rs 15,000. Nepal Police Club´s Bharat Khawas won the highest scorer award. He had scored a hat-trick against CFC of Bhutan. Khawas was awarded Rs 21,000.
Santosh Sahukhala of Three Star was declared the best player of the tournament. He was awarded with a Yamaha Motorbike. Similarly, Dharan´s player Sagar Ghimire was also awarded with a motorbike as the Dharan Player of The Year. Ghimire plays professional football from Friends Club of Lalitpur.
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