In Pokhara, the Laligurans Association used to be more involved in musical events, and was better known as LG for short. Laligurans is a team that later turned to football. This year has been amazing for the team.

First they became district champions, then provincial champions. Laligurans is also the champion team of ANFA Presidents Cup. This Pokharel team got off to a great start by defeating ‘A’ Division rivals Jawalakhel Youth Club in the National League Football on Thursday. 

This was also Laligurans’ debut in the mainstream of domestic football. ‘We are happy to get off to a winning start in the National League. This is natural. But we are not too surprised about it. One fact is certain, this victory will inspire us to perform well in the remaining matches of the competition,’ said Laligurans coach Kiran Shrestha. He was the coach when Laligurans, which is almost an ‘organic’ team of Pokhara, won the ANFA Presidents Cup title. 

He was associated with the team in some way or the other even in the early days. He added, ‘It is difficult to play the first match in any competition. This match is important because it is won. In the coming days, some players will be added and the team's performance will be even better.' Shrestha spent the most time in his playing career in Jawalakhel. Moreover, he also played under the guidance of Jawalakhel's current coach Sunil Shrestha. In that sense, it was like a disciple winning against his teacher's team. 

But he is grateful to Jawalakhel and says, 'My respect for Jawalakhel will always be high. There will be wins and losses in the game.' The hero of this loss was Raj Bhusal. In the second minute of the match at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato, he headed a goal from Lakshu Thapa's free kick. This ultimately proved to be decisive. This gave Laligurans 3 points. For Jawalakhel, it was a forgettable start, especially based on their good performance in the last 'A' division. 

Jawalakhel coach Shrestha, however, reacted to the goal conceded when his team could not control the game. He said, the league is a long competition, we will play with restraint in the coming days. Otherwise, before the competition started, this same coach claimed that Jawalakhel's goal was to win the competition. Perhaps Jawalakhel will make his coach's words worthwhile, but they will have to work hard. 

In the first match on Thursday, Satdobato Youth and Sankata Club played a goalless draw. This is a result that neither team will be happy with, but both will be relieved that they were able to avoid defeat in the first match. Although both teams created some opportunities during the match, they could not prove decisive. Both were satisfied with 1 point. Perhaps Satdobato was unlucky to some extent, because the team's key player, Fode Fofana, was forced to leave the field after the first half hour of the match due to an injury. 

In his absence, Satdobato's game lacked decisive coordination. Team coach Balgopal Sahukhal also admitted that that turn of the match made it difficult for the team. It is not clear how serious Fofana's injury is. But the club has also said that they will look for another player to replace him. Coach Sahukhal says, 'We came out on the field with the intention of winning, but we couldn't.' His counterpart at Sankata, coach Ravindra Silakar, said that he was satisfied with a draw. 

After the first four games of the tournament, Friends and Laligurans have collected 3 points each. The teams remain in the top two positions. Now, on Friday, the only match at the Dasharath Stadium will be between Machindra and NRT. This will probably be a must-see match of the tournament. The match will be held at 7 pm 

under floodlights. Before that, a special program will also be held during the official inauguration of the tournament.