By a Staff Reporter
Pokhara – Sankata Club lifted the title of Aaha! Rara Pokhara Gold Cup for the second time in 3 years.
Sankata defeated the American side Bhutanese Youth SC Minnesota by 3-2 in an intense match at Pokhara Rangasahala. Suraj Jeu Thakuri, Messouke Oloumou, and Sunil Bal scored a piece for the champions. Rene Santillon and Willis Griffith netted once for the American side.
Suraj opened an account for Sankata in the 8th minute of the match. He tapped in the rebound from the edge of the box to give Sanakta an early lead. Messouke Oloumou doubled their lead in the 35th minute.
Sankata, who were comfortably 2-0 up, failed to hold their lead. Rene pulled one back for BYSC two minutes after Messouke found the net. Willis Griffith netted the ball home in the injury time of the first half (45+3) to level the match before the interval.
The finale went into an extra time as nothing separated both sides till the regulation time. Sankata’s skipper Sunil Bal scored the decider in the 117th minute of the extra time. Later, he was adjudged Most Valuable Player of the tournament and rewarded with a Tail G scooter.
The champions of the 22nd edition, Sanakata Club received NRs. 1.2 Million whereas the runners-up BYSC Minnesota received NRs. 6 Lakhs.
Displaying a consistent performance throughout the tournament, Sankata’s custodian Tekendra Thapa bagged the Best Goalkeeper award. Similarly, Sankata’s Ayush Ghalan and Stephen Binong were named best midfielder and best forward respectively.
While Salyan Khadgi received the best coach award, Messouke Olomou was titled the highest goal scorer. He netted 4 goals throughout the tournament. Moreover, BYSC’s Hector Ortega was named best defender of the tourney. The best among all the categories pursed NRs. 25,000 each.
