YAZALI, 17 Nov: NUFC were crowned champions of the third Hangover Veteran Football Cup tournament after they beat Seya Veteran FC 4-0 in the final match played at the general ground here in Lower Subansiri district on Wednesday.
Earlier, in the semifinals, Seya Veteran FC had beaten The Lion FC on penalties, while NUFC took out tournament favourites PHED in the other game to reach the final.
NUFC’s intent was clear from the start as they took the lead in the 28th minute, thanks to a strike by Neelam John.
Koj Tatung went on to extend his team’s lead by scoring two goals in the 45th and the 60th minute.
An own goal in the 65th minute further added to Seya Veteran FC’s misery, with the final match of the tournament ending 4-0.
As the champions, NUFC won the cup and Rs 2 lakhs, while Seya Veteran FC was awarded Rs 1 lakh.
The PHED team won the ‘fair play team’ award.
Tamchi Tasung of PHED won the golden boot for scoring five goals in the tournament, while Rallo Rajkumar of NUFC was awarded the ‘overall player of the tournament’ trophy. NUFC’s Mingu Bage was adjudged the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Before the final match in the evening, Dirang MLA Phurpa Tsering said that he had never witnessed day & night football match in the state before, and that “Yazali has set a trend that the rest of the state will follow.”
He praised the Hangover Group “for the philanthropic work that it has been doing since its establishment.”
Tsering added that he would initiate measures to improve the ground’s condition, and promised to provide additional funds for upgrading it.
Kalaktang MLA Dorjee Wangdi Kharma said that the experience of watching the final match under artificial lights made him feel like he was “witnessing the match in a metropolitan city.”
The semifinals and the final matches were played in the evening under artificial lights – a first for the district.
The Hangover Group’s chief patron Baath Vicky also spoke.
