Man-of-the-tournament Nasir-uddin, who has scored in every final round game, put three-time champions Army ahead against the run of play.

Topu equalised for Narayanganj on the stroke of half time and former national striker Ritu slammed the match-winner from a penalty late in the second half.

The final started 22 minutes behind schedule as organisers struggled to accommodate a 20,000 strong crowd in the 3,000-capacity stadium.

It was refreshing to see so many fans turn up for a match played outside the capital. And the game passed off without any crowd invasion despite the fact that spectators spilled on to the touchline.

Narayanganj, who boasted as many as six present and former national footballers, came alive early on but young striker Topu squandered two chances inside seven minutes. His senior partner Ritu also got two chances but both of his close range efforts bounced off the wall including a goalline save by Army centre-back Nayeem in the 19th minute.

Nayeem however almost turned villain a minute later when his mistimed clearance went straight to Topu but the placing shot of the nimble attacker drifted wide of the far post.

After surviving those close calls, Army regrouped and got their first scoring opportunity in the 25th minute when Razzak was left unmarked in the rival penalty box. But his low drive from 15 yards was brilliantly parried by Narayanganj custodian Mohammed Ali.

The Army man finally broke the 39-minute deadlock when fullback Kabirul whipped in a nice free-kick from the left over the wall, which was nodded home by none other than their prolific scorer Nasiruddin.

The lead was very short-lived as Topu made amends for his earlier mistakes. Captain Liton's curling freekick unsettled the Army defence and Topu tapped home after goalkeeper Ramjan let the ball slip from his grip.

After a high-voltage first half, both sides looked tired and created very few chances in the second.

The match winner came in the 72nd minute when Army defender Masum Kamal handled the ball on the goalline after Topu fired a left-footer from a goalmouth melee.

Referee Mansoor Azad instantly pointed to the dreaded spot but amazingly cautioned Masum with a yellow when the offence demanded a red card being shown.

And Ritu sent Narayanganj into raptures by sending the Army keeper the wrong way to cap a fantastic return from injury.

Narayanganj's national defender Nazrul was adjudged man-of-the-final while hosts Natore got the Fair Play Trophy.

TEAMS
NARAYANGANJ: Mohammed Ali, Montu, Sujan, Nazrul, Dulal, Abul, Biddyut, Liton, Parvez (Rintu), Topu and Ritu.

ARMY: Ramjan (Monirul), Ashish, Masum, Nayeem, Kabirul, Didar, Shahidul, Razzak, Sonny, Tutul and Nasiruddin.