Lalitpur City FC defended their Nepal Super League title defeating Pokhara Thunders FC 2-1 at Dasharath Stadium on Saturday.

Lalitpur City lifted the trophy of the third season in style, staying unbeaten. Winning three games and drawing three others, Lalitpur entered the playoffs as the top team from the league. They then defeated second-placed Dhangadhi FC in Qualifier 1 on April 19 to enter the final.

Lalitpur’s skipper Ananta Tamang was all smiles after the win on Saturday. “I could not play in the first season due to injury,” he said. “But I am very happy to have won the second and third seasons consecutively.”

With the second title, Lalitpur are now the most successful team of NSL. Finishing third in the first season in 2021, Lalitpur emerged as the champions in the second season in 2023. And their consecutive title was a result of two overseas players scoring on Saturday.

Papa Iboue Kebe and Imoh Ezekeil were on the scoresheet for Lalitpur while Sudil Rai’s equaliser was insufficient for Pokhara, who lost the chance for the title for the second consecutive season.

The first half was about to end goalless, but Kebe did not allow it. He gave Lalitpur the lead in the 42nd minute so that the defending champions could start the second half on a high.

Meanwhile, Rai equalised in the 64th minute and intensified the fight for the trophy. It looked like Pokhara were back in the fight. But when Ezekeil scored in the 74th minute, Lalitpur returned to glory. Both goals for Lalitpur were a result of the poor jumps by Pokhara’s defenders to prevent crosses inside the box.

Tamang acknowledged his opponent’s strengths following the match. “Pokhara were a quality team. They improved day by day,” Tamang said. “We had six days of rest for the final, so we studied Pokhara very well.”

Pokhara finished at the top of the league table during the second season. However, they lost to Dhangadhi in Qualifier 1 and to Lalitpur in Qualifier 2. Pokhara took their revenge against Dhangadhi this season, but could not repeat the same against Lalitpur.

Pokhara entered the playoffs of the third season as the fourth-placed team. They defeated Chitwan in Eliminator and Dhangadhi in Qualifier 2 to book their place in the final against Lalitpur.

“Players have been excellent every day in the training. It was not easy, you never expect the final to be easy,” Simon Grayson, Lalitpur’s head coach, said after winning his first NSL trophy.

“I came here to win. I have been here on my own, no other staff,” added Grayson. Also a former Premier League player with Leicester City, Aston Villa and Blackburn, Grayson stressed that the win in Nepal would be one of his major achievements. “The footballing culture here is great,” he said.

Best performances

Before handing over the winning medals and trophy to Lalitpur, the organisers feted the best players in the season.

Santosh Khatri and Mani Kumar Lama of Lalitpur were adjudged the Emerging and Energetic players of the season, respectively.

Similarly, despite losing the final, two Pokhara players were also honoured with individual awards. Skipper Ayush Ghalan was the Most Valuable Player of the season, while Yves Priso was the Best Goalkeeper with five clean sheets in nine games.

Likewise, Dhangadhi’s Ahmad Hijazi, the only player with a hat-trick this season, was the highest goal scorer with five goals. Hijazi now has nine goals in the NSL.