A brief introduction on teams participating in Safal Pokhara Cup

Along with 8 Top Flight Clubs, One Local Club and 3 foreign clubs, Safal Pokhara Cup is set to kick off on 14th of Kartik. This is the biggest tournament to be held outside the Valley till date. The winning team will get Rs. 3,05,000 whereas runner up will walk away with Rs. 1,50,000. Lets have a quick take at the teams participating in the tournament.

1. Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marsyangdi Club– Regarded as the title favorites, they are team to beat in this tournament. The way they performed in the recently held Knockout tournament justifies their credentials. They have a strong squad and bench with a great tactician along. But with their regular goalie Bishal Shrestha still out injured they are somehow not fully confident with their foreign goalie Emmanuel who did not had that good tournament in the last tournament.  But their defense is rock at the back and with midfield and forward playing at their best avoiding a defeat against them is a big ask for any team. They have a big fan support in Pokhara.

Players to watch: Anil Gurung, Shiva Shrestha, Zambo Anatole

2. NIBL Friends Club– With inclusion of National Skipper Sagar Thapa, Nirajan Khadka and Jagjit Shrestha they could not give good result in last tournament but the arrival of Bharat Khawas for this tournament is a timely boost for them. They also have good rising talents like Birendra Chand and Prakash Budhathoki with them. They will do their best to justify their price tags with good performance in this tournament , no wonder they have an eye on the cup already.

Players to watch: Nirajan Khadka, Bharat Khawas, Sagar Thapa

3. Yeti Himalayan Sherpa Club– After the departure of Sagar Thapa HSC has benn finding it hard to make a good impression in results but their type of play has been brilliant. They do not have height in players but their type of play just suits their play and their Skipper is in good touch. Pukar was excellent throughout NCell Cup but missed out on Quarterfinal berth. They ca spring a few surprise on this tournament.

Players to watch: Pukar Gahatraj, Ganesh Khadka, Sachindra Dhimal

4.  Nepal Police Club: NPC are a good club in league history but the knockot tournaments has not been so good for them as the leagues in recent years. They have found it hard to cash in on the chances and paid the price. Birat and co would love to end this run with a consitent performance here. They will want their skipper and forward Jumanu Rai to stay n good touch to make a serious title challange.

Players to watch: Jumanu Rai, Ramesh Katuwal, Ritesh Thapa

5. Ranipokhari Corner Team: With a good performance in recently held NCell Cup, RCT will be keeping their heads up high even though they were humiliated with rare 6-1 defeat in the finals. They have a good forward line which was the main reason of their success in the last cup. They will want the defensive line to help midfield [lay well and the forwards to do their job like in Ncell Cup.

Players to Watch: Oladipo Afeez, Amar Dangol, Dilip Chhetri

6. New Road Team: With disappointing performance in NCell Cup and departure of manager Raju Kaji Shakya, NRT have a mountain to climb if they are to produce something in this tournament. They have local boys from Pokhara in the team so we can expect a bit of bright side but with the performance of Ncell cup it will be hard for them to go through. However they will do their best to make their mark in the tournament.

Players to watch: Sushil KC, Raju Yogi, Subash Gurung A

7. Armed Police Force: They are considered as one of the toughest opponent in the league. Their physical pressure is too hard to handle for a team and are very strong tactically with the utility players in their side. They were unlucky to get knocked out in the last tournament but they will be visiting Pokhara with hope of clinching title outside the valley.They will have high hope on their talisman Ganesh Lawati.

Players to watch:  Ganesh Lawati, Samit Rajbhandari, Sudip Shikarakar

8. Machhindra Club: With a bunch of good players and good style of play they are considered as the under dogs in this tournament. They are playing their first tournament here in Pokhara and they will be eager to end it on a high note. Their quality in Forward line just makes them more threatening. We can expect a change in management looking at the condition of team last tournament and the paper talks. They will be eager to make this tournament more than just participation.

Players to watch: Bishal Rai B, Dipak Rai, Bikram Limbu

9. Pokhara XI: The team is yet to be announced but we can expect some big names from A division clubs not participating in  the tournament. Players like Subin Shrestha might make their mark in his hometown. He had a good tournament for Bouddha in NCell Cup. We can expect a good team from them and maybe a good run of games.

10. Bhutan will be represented by Druk Pol FC while other foreign teams are yet to be confirmed but it is sure that they will be top division clubs with good bunch of players. They will not make it a trip to remember and do everything they can as they will be playing for the country as well.