Governor's Gold Cup: Nepal Three Star Lift Gold Cup

Striker Yougal Kishore Rai scored the all important goal in the 80th minute in what was the only real opportunity the Nepal side got during the entire game.

Midfielder Ranjit Shrestha rummaged past three Army XI defenders and sent Kishore Rai through who sent a rolling shot into the far end of the post.

The moment the ball hit the back of the net, the 25,000 strong crowd at Paljor Stadium went wild.

Crushed by the goal, Army XI, who had been dominating the game till then, could not recover and faded out. The final whistle triggered another round of wild celebrations among the crowd that was largely supporting the Nepal side.

The Armymen had only to blame themselves for the loss as they could not convert several good chances into goals. Army XI also hit the crossbar on two occasions.

First it was Masheh Rai's fine shot that crashed into the bar in the 16th minute. Then, team captain Ngurneilal's curling chip bounced off the bar in 59th minute.

In fact, the Army XI had completely dominated the game right from the word go with free flowing moves as the Nepal side's midfield appeared to have left the field. It was only due to a dozen excellent saves by the Nepal Three Star goalkeeper Kiran Chamjang that they could prevent a bloodbath in the game.

He fisted and blocked the scorching shots and dived right into the bootlaces of the Army XI strikers to prevent goals. In the second half, some sense prevailed among the Three Star players who switched to long balls to their towering striker Shaukhalah in order to counter the strong midfield of Army XI.

Bijoy Gurung