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Kathmandu,Sunday January 16, 2000 Magh 2nd, 2056.
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RCT clinch Mahendra Gold
Cup Naresh Joshi scores hat-trick
-By Shankar Kharel
BIRATNAGAR, Jan 15 - RCT, powered by Naresh
Joshi’s gallavanting hat-trick, lifted the coveted Mahendra Gold Cup, scoring a 3-2
win over Tribhuvan Club in an exciting final here Saturday.
The match, as the final score suggests,
started at a brisk pace and the crowd hardly had any dull moments to bear as
the teams engaged in a gruelling battle.
There were initial fears that RCT,
regardless of their 6-0 drubbing of Mahendra Police Club in the semi-finals, might find
the Army outfit a hard nut to crack. But the inspiration was with RCT, who notwithstanding
a few lapses of concentration, otherwise starved Tribhuvan Club’s attackers with
tight marking.
A triumph here would have been more than
consolation for Tribhuvan Club after staying for so long in the wilderness, but in the end
it was not to be.
But, then, RCT, after much disappointment
in recent tournaments, certainly deserved to win if only for the team spirit and
determination they displayed from start to finish.
RCT was the first to attack the goal only
to see Naresh Joshi missing the target by a whisker. The army team escaping by a hair's
breadth.
But it was Tribhuvan Club to hug success
first as RCT were finding it difficult to manoeuvre their defence in the absence of their
last defender, Deepak Paudel.
After missing a chance in the 3rd minute,
Army skipper Basanta Gurung buried the ball in the RCT net for a 1-0 lead, following a
nice combination. It was a joint effort well orchestrated in the middle by Adarsh Malla,
Sukra Dhimal, Prakash Thapamagar and Binaya Chaudhary.
That prompted RCT coach to bring on Paudel,
who not only patched up their porous defence but also braced up the mid-field to switch on
to overdrive. RCT started to look more organised with Bal Gopal Maharjan, Naresh Joshi,
Milan Shrestha enjoying better ball possession.
In the 10th minute, Naresh Joshi brought
RCT to level terms at 1-1 after he was set up with a clear pass by Deepak Paudel. The
equaliser instilled in more excitement as the stadium became noisy with the sound of drums
and horns.
And eight minutes later, Joshi put them
into the lead for the first time when he scored a stunning goal off the pass of Milan
Shrestha.
Tribhuvan Club’s Adarsh Malla made
some good moves and fed good balls to team-mates Basanta Gurung, Prakash Thapamagar and
Sukra Dhimal who squandered over half a dozen clear scoring chances, to go into the break
trailing by 1-2.
The match continued with the same
exhilaration in the second half as the players went on attacks all the time. And a player
from either side—Surendra Shrestha of Tribhuvan Club and Naresh Joshi of RCT, were
booked by referee Kiran Giri. There was no addition to the score midway through the second
session. But playing fast down the wings and incisive in the middle, RCT penetrated the
Army defence to nail the winner in the 70th minute.
Naresh Joshi, once again demonstrating his
sublime skill, beat Tribhuvan Club keeper Chhunu Ram Chaudhary to complete his hat-trick
and ensuring RCT’s victory with a 3-1 lead.
In the dying moments, Tribhuvan Club were
awarded a penalty after a RCT defender, while trying to clear a shot, handled the ball
inside the restricted zone and Adarsh Malla converted it to narrow the margin to 3-2.
After the match, the chief guest, Minister
for Finance, Mahesh Acharya gave away the trophy, medals and certificates to the winners
and runners-up. The vice-president of the Nepal Olympic Committee, Bhairab Chhetri,
president of the Morang District Football Association, Amar Thapa were among those present
on the occasion.
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