Biratnagar Metropolitan City defeated Barhabise Municipality 4-1 in the penalty shootout to claim the first Deputy Mayor Cup Women’s football tournament title at the Nepal APF Club grounds in Halchowk on Thursday.

The match was decided through tiebreaker after the regulation 90 minutes of play finished in 1-1 draw. After conceding first half goal in the 27th minute through Samjhana Lawati, Biratnagar hit back the equalizer in the second minute of second half through Jamuna Gurung.

Lawati unleashed a powerful long range shot to put Barhabise in the driving seat. Rejuvenated after the break, Magar restored the parity for Biratnagar in the 47th minute. In the spotkick, Rubina Pahari was the only player to convert penalty for Barhabise as Sushma Tamang and Anu Rai missed the targets in next two shots. All four penalty-takers—Rekha Paudel, Ima Rai, Bidhya Rana and Manmaya Limbu—converted for Biratnagar.

“The opponents were better in the early periods of first half, but we totally dominated the second half. We could have won the match in regular time had the girls not squandered three scoring chances in one-on-one situation,” said Biratnagar coach Paras Chaudhary whose side was studded with two Nepali internationals including forward Rekha Paudel and defender Manamaya Limbu. Chaudhary also expressed satisfaction with the team’s overall performance despite short preparations. “We had only trained for a week in Biratnagar and an additional five days in Kathmandu. And winning the tournament with less than two weeks’ preparation is remarkable,” said Chaudhary.

Barebishe coach Sandeep Khadka blamed their defeat to the poor decision of referee Asmita Manandhar. “The referee did not award us penalty despite the opponent goalkeeper’s direct foul in one-on-one situation,” said Khadka whose team included the U-19 international Samjhana Lawati and two national U-16 players. “He also parly blamed the loss to the physically unfit players.”

Biratnagar striker Rekha Paudel was declared the best player of the tournament and received Rs 25,000. Her teammate Kalpana Karki was declared the best goalkeeper and Chaudhary of the winning team the best coach. Barebishe’s Sarita Sherpa won the best defender award while her teammates Rajani Shrestha claimed the best midfielder and Parbati Ghale the best striker awards.

Champoins Biratnagar received Rs 500,000 while Barhabise got Rs 300,00. Biratnagar Mayor Bhim Parajuli and Deputy Mayor Indu Karki, who were in the stands to watch the match, announced an additional Rs 500,000 award to the winning team. In all 18 teams took part in the league-cum-knockout tournament.