Tribhuvan Army Club Crowned Lalit Memorial Under-18 Champions
Tribhuvan Army Club have been crowned the title of the Lalit Memorial U-18 Football Tournament after beating Jagdamba Lumbini Football Club in tiebreaker at the ANFA Complex, Satdobato on Wednesday.
In the final match, Army defeated Lumbini FC 3-1 on penalties after the time 1-1 draw in regular time of 90 minutes. Lumbini took the lead in the sixth minute when Janom Man Ligal headed home. TAC levelled the scores in the 75th minute after Prezen Tamang scored from the penalty. TAC earned the penalty after a Lumbini defender brought down TAC forward inside the danger box in a corner kick.
In the tie-breaker, Dorje Tamang, Prezen Tamang and Abhishek Rijal converted their penaly kicks for Army, while Dinesh Henjan and Anosh Magar shots were saved by Lumbini goalkeeper Sandesh Gurung. However, only Ranjit Thapa scored for Lumbini. Army goalkeeper Arpan Karki saved shots from Mandeep Thapa and Tejendra Pun while Janom Man Ligal hit outside the post.
During the regular time, Lumbini, which looked dominant in the first half, took an early lead after Janom netted from inside the box in the 6th minute.
However, Army leveled the score in the 75th minute through spot kick. Prezen converted the penalty that he earned after referee penalized a Lumbini FC player inside the box.
The situation remained tensed for a while as players of Lumbini and Army involved in a scuffle that forced referee Prakash Nath Shrestha to book Army player Anos hMagar and Ashok Thapa of Lumbini with yellow cards.
“The referee made poor decision by awarding Army the penalty opportunity as our players had not committed any mistake. At the same time, the referee also pushed our goalkeeper that created nervousness in our whole team. As a result, we lost our rhythm. Otherwise, our players were playing good game,” said Gurung.
Army coach Chakra Tamang said that the title win was the biggest achievement for his side. However, he added that that his team was under pressure against the opponent.
“The result of the league match had put us under pressure in the first half, which was clearly visible. However, we overcame the fear gradually and the goal came through penalty as we put pressure on the opponent,” said Tamang.
TAC received Rs 300,000, while runner-up Lumbini got Rs 150,000 with trophy.Army’s Suman Aryal won the best defender award, while Chakra Tamang won the best coach award. Lumbini’s Janom claimed best forward award and Damodar Thapa Chhetri was adjudged the best midfielder, while Sushil Basnet of CMG Sankata Club won the best goalkeeper award. Each of them received Rs 15,000.
