Nawayug Shrestha struck a hat-trick to steer Nepal into the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup with a crushing 4-1 victory over Maldives at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Shrestha displayed sheer athleticism and perfect finishing to become Nepal’s fifth footballer to score international hat-trick, and most importantly send his team into the final of an international tournament after 17 years. Nepal’s last final appearance was in the 1999 South Asian games football against Bangladesh which they lost 1-0. The victory, the first since 1999, also comes as a welcome relief to the Nepali football that has lately been embroiled in match-fixing and corruption allegations. Nepal had defeated Maldives 2-1 in the South Asian Games semi-finals on home turf.

Shrestha, who had fired blanks in his last six international matches, was at the centre of Nepal’s fine attacking game, while Bishal Rai also struck his first international goal. Nasid Ahmed pulled one back for Maldives in the 77th minute. Nepal will now take on Bahrain U-23 team in final on Friday.

A modest Shrestha thanked his teammates for his achievement that has come especially at a time when Nepali players are heavily criticised for not being able to score. “Football is a team game and I would like to thank my teammates for making it happen,” Shrestha told the post match presentation after receiving the man-of-the-match award. 

“I am very happy that we are in final and we want to make history by winning the tournament,” added Shrestha. Shrestha came close to scoring early in the 15th minute when he received a long ball from Bishal Rai at the edge. Despite being marked by two Maldives defenders, the striker did well to dribble the ball inside the area but ended up applying a weak shot from close range.

However, he opened the floodgates in the 31st minute, scoring in a rebound after the initial shot from Bimal Gharti Magar hit the upright. The highest scorer in the recently concluded National League, the Tribhuvan Army Club striker Shrestha made a fine run to beat a Maldivian defender’s attempt to clear the rebound before firing home with a powerful shot from a sliding position. 

Rai then missed a chance to double the lead when he was in a perfect position to guide a high ball from Biraj Maharjan as his header went wide in the 36th. Nepal goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu assured Nepal head into the second half with the 1-0 cushion showing excellent reflexes to punch out a powerful shot from Easa Ismail.

Nepal took the second half by storm and Rai made full use of a defensive lapse for his debut goal in the 53rd minute in a move set by Rabin Shrestha. The attacking defender initially fed Anjan Bista, who missed the ball along with two Maldivian defenders. Unmarked Rai grabbed the opportunity by firing a low shot. 

Maldives were desperate looking for an equaliser and Imaaz Ahmed missed a free header in the 59th and Shrestha punished them for the miss with arguably the best goal of the night. He collected a pass from Bikram Lama inside the area and produced a beautiful right-footed flick to leave custodian Faisal Mohammad stunned.

Ahmed cut the deficit when Biraj Maharjan let a ball roll away from him and the forward perfectly place the ball into the nets. Maldives missed few more opportunities to score and it was Shrestha who finished the match in style in the 91st minute placing the ball into the far right corner on a pass from Lama.