Khamir Gilsan Kandangwa and Karan Limbu scored a goal each for Jhapa who successfully avenged the 2-0 defeat inflicted by the departmental side in the final of Pathari Gold Cup three months ago. Along with the title,

Jhapa received a purse of Rs 501,000 and TAC walked away with Rs 301,000. It was Jhapa’s second title triumph after winning the Anfa Cup Football held in September in Kathmandu. Tanka Basnet scored the consolation goal for runners-up TAC.

TAC still lead Jhapa 3-1 in their overall meeting after defeating the team from outside the Kathmandu valley by identical 1-0 goal margin in the National League and Mai Valley Gold Cup. Jhapa took an early sixth-minute when Kandangwa fired home a pass from the corner area from Narendra Limbu. After the early lead, Jhapa kept pressing for another goal and were duly rewarded when their reliable forward Limbu struck in the 24th minute.

Limbu utilised a pass from Buddha Chemjong from the left flank to double the lead. Jhapa coach Bhagirath Ale said that his players were dying to beat TAC after losing to them three times in a row. “To defeat a team against whom we have been losing is not an easy task for us. All the credit goes to our boys,” said Ale. Jhapa had edged another departmental team Nepal Police Club in semi-final.

Jhapa who missed the service of midfielders Yogesh Gurung and Parbat Katuwal and defender Sumin Mainali played a defensive game after taking the 2-0 lead leaving TAC with an opportunity to score after the break.

Basnet headed home a pass from Rajiv Gurung in the 84th minute for TAC. The Armymen fought hard for the equaliser but Jhapa custodian Dinesh Thapa kept their attacks at bay. TAC coach Megh Raj KC was all praise of Jhapa’s brilliant display.

“They (Jhapa XI) are a good team and they played excellent football for 90 minutes today,” said KC. “Conceding an early goal put us on the back foot and missing a couple of chances also proved costly for us. But Jhapa were the deserved winners.” Earlier Bharat Khawas had missed a chance to score in the 35th minute. In a one-versus-one situation, Khawas’ shot was caught by Jhapa goalie Thapa.

Jhapa also ruled the presentation ceremony with Thapa (goal keeper), Limbu (man-of-the series), Ale (coach) and Tek Bahadur Subba (manager) sweeping the individual awards. TAC midfielder Tanka Basnet, defender Jitendra Karki and Naywayug Shrestha (highest scorer) were other individual winners.