Last year's runner-up Dharan won the title by defeating New Star Football Club Jhapa, the runner-up in the third edition, by a 3-1 goal margin.
What you should know
Marik Football Club Dharan Sunsari has won the title of the fifth international invitational Sirijanga Gold Cup football tournament held in Tellok, the center of Sirijanga rural municipality.
Last year's runner-up Dharan won the title by defeating this year's third edition's runner-up New Star Football Club Jhapa by a 3-1 goal margin.
While winning the title, all three goals for Dharan were scored by foreign players. Two goals were scored by Nana and one goal by Fofona. Coincidentally, the consolation goal for Jhapa was also scored by a foreign player. All four goals in the final match were scored by foreign players.
In the fourth minute of the match, Nana opened the scoring account by heading Sushil Rai's corner kick into the post. New Star's Ajay Martin brought his team back into the game in the 50th minute. Martin scored a great goal from the edge of the box. For Marik, who were in an aggressive rhythm, Nana scored the second goal in the 56th minute to give the team the lead, while Fofona scored the third goal with the last minute remaining to ensure the team's victory. Nana was named the Man of the Match of the title-winning game and received 2500.
Dharan's Fofona received 5,000 rupees for being the top scorer, while Sushil Rai received 10,000 rupees for being the best player. Dharan's Nishan Magar and Jhapa's Nikesh Shrestha were the goalkeepers and received 5,000 rupees each.
Dharan received the three-year running trophy with a statue of Sirijanga Singh Thebe along with 3,321 rupees, while Jhapa settled for 150,000 rupees in cash.
Eight teams, including one from India, participated in the competition organized to mark the 321st birth anniversary of Sirijanga Singh Thebe. The winners were awarded medals and prizes by Sirijanga Rural Municipality Chairman Lal Krishna Chauhan, District Sports Development Committee Chairman Narendra Kumar Limbu (Ganesh), and others. The game was held peacefully and amicably, said Arjun Bhattarai, chairman of the organizer Tellok Sporting Club.
