New Road Team and Sankata FC share a rivalry that goes back decades. Their match is considered the biggest derby in Nepali club football: the two clubs come from the same area.

NRT was established in 1934. The club represented the overall New Road area. But some years later, players from Te Bahal, the area with Sankata Temple inside New Road, formed another club after they did not get the chance to play for NRT. Sankata FC was established in 1950.

A rivalry was born.

NRT have won the Martyr’s Memorial ‘A’ Division League four times, while Sankata have lifted the trophy thrice. Those with knowledge of Nepali football’s history say that whenever NRT and Sankata locked horns, the New Road area would go quiet. Locals would file into the Dasharath Stadium to catch the match live. Shops would get shuttered.

The first A Division league season was held in 1954-55. The league saw a brief hiatus from 1958 to 1960, and then for two more years, from 1964 to 1966. From the eighth season in 1966-67, the league was held regularly until the 28th edition in 1987.

The league became more irregular in the late 1980s. Apart from the continuity between the 2003-04 season and 2006-07 season, the league has been marred by one hiatus after another. Fans have been disoriented and the craze for domestic football has started diminishing.

So when NRT took on Sankata at the ANFA Complex on Thursday, the two teams were playing football under drastically different circumstances. The derby didn’t see the jam-packed stadium that it would have seen in the last century. Also missing in action was a cut-throat contest.

“There is no footballing environment like before,” NRT head coach Jeevan Sinkemana said after his team’s 3-1 win over Sankata during their National League fixture on Thursday. “From the fans’ love for the game to the professionalism of players, nothing is like the old days.”

The National League kicked off on January 14 featuring 17 clubs—four clubs from outside the Valley that qualified from the President League and 13 A-Division clubs. The National League has replaced the ‘A’ Division League, which has not been organised after the 45th season in 2023, for now.

“Experienced players have left the country due to the inconsistent league,” Sinkemana said. “And the new players lack the experience of playing at the top level.”

Rabindra Silakar, Sankata FC’s head coach, expressed similar concerns. He stressed that all the clubs, including Sankata, were struggling to have their players play in an organised system.

“Players want a professional response from the club in services, but they do not show professionalism during the games,” Silakar said. “The reason there was a strong craze for the derby was a result of the dedication the players showed during the game. It is completely missing now.”

Silakar argued that while the league and the players wanted to be professional, their attitude was still semi-professional. Alongside Silakar, NRT’s Sinkemana also decried “unprofessional refereeing” in the league.

Referee judgement under scrutiny

Recalling the time when the clubs of the National League were called for an interaction and taught about the laws of the game, Silakar said that the referee himself was not following the laws of the game completely.

“For instance, I have no complaint regarding the match referee showing the second yellow to Taye Daniel Badaru in the 24th minute,” Silakar said. “But the referee did not follow the laws when NRT were wasting time in the additional time after the 90 minutes.”

Silakar went on, “Except for a head injury or an injury to a goalkeeper, a restart should not be delayed by more than about 20-25 seconds. But the referee did not care.”

Likewise, NRT’s head coach Sinkemana was also dissatisfied with the referee’s decision to show a second yellow to his key striker Timothy Chiemerie Okereke for just speaking out in the 86th minute.

The match referee for the New Road derby was Nabindra Maharjan.

“Yes, only the captain should speak to the referee in cases of disappointment during the game,” Sinkemana said. “But it does not mean that other players cannot even speak. It was what Timothy did.”

He added, “A first yellow was acceptable if he spoke more, but a second yellow right away?”

Timothy was more frustrated with the two yellows. Until he reached the touchline, he kept on shouting that the referee had made a mistake. The Nigerian also vented his ire at the fourth official as he went down the stairs towards the dressing room.

“A referee at this level of the game should be ready to handle pressure because a high-intensity match demands it,” Sinkemana said. “Now, I do not have my key player available for the next match due to a bad decision.”

Timothy scored the third goal for NRT in the 67th minute. It was his third individual goal in the league. Kritish Ratna Chhunju got his first goal of the league in the 11th minute to give NRT the lead. NRT led 2-0 in the 51st minute with a suicide goal by Wendpanga Gilbert Bilgo.

The only consolation goal for Sankata came in the 56th minute by Krishna Bahadur Ale.

“We have young players,” Silakar said. “If the referee decides to allow extreme physicality during our matches, we are set to lose.”

Silakar added, “My players were physically dominated by opponent players, especially in the matches at Chyasal Stadium and ANFA Complex. I now only have around five players uninjured.”

Church Boys rain goals

Nawa Jana Jagriti Yuwa Club, which reached the President League representing Simara, suffered the heaviest defeat of the National League this season. They were hammered 6-1 by Church Boys United in the second match on Thursday at ANFA Complex.

It was the fourth league match for Nawa Jana Jagriti and Church Boys. It was the fourth loss for Nawa Jana Jagriti and the second win for Church Boys, who have a draw and a loss in the other two fixtures.

With three minutes into the game, Abayomi Oluwaseun Fakunle scored, and five minutes later, Arik Bista doubled the lead for Church Boys.

Milan Rai scored the first hat-trick of the league after finding the back of the net in the 20th, 41st and 61st minutes. Fakunle scored his second individual goal in the 31st.

Johann Boer gave Nawa Jana Jagriti the consolation goal in the 81st minute.

There is a two-day gap on Friday and Saturday before the league returns on February 1.