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Durand Cup 2022: Mumbai City beat Indian Navy 4-1; Neroca crush TRAU

Former Indian Super League champions Mumbai City FC (MCFC) overcame early hiccups to beat Indian Navy 4-1 in their opening Durand Cup match at the Saltlake Stadium here on Thursday.

By Pti
File photo

Kolkata, Aug 18: Former Indian Super League champions Mumbai City FC (MCFC) overcame early hiccups to beat Indian Navy 4-1 in their opening Durand Cup match at the Saltlake Stadium here on Thursday.

A two-goal blitz by substitute Lallianzuala Chhangte (89th, 90+1st) in the space of two minutes, following goals from Vikram Pratap Singh (45+4th) and Greg Stewart (65th) gave the Islanders full points from group B.

The star-studded Mumbai outfit dominated the possession but lacked in finishing early on as Indian Navy took the lead with a peach of a strike from Adersh Mattummal (43rd) against the run of play. Navy's seasoned goalkeeper-cum-captain Velutha Kulathil Vishnu was resolute under the bar and effected some fine saves to keep the ISL heavyweights at bay.

Finally, Des Buckingham's side got the much-needed breakthrough in the first-half injury time when Vikram made a fine run inside the box from the right and scored the equaliser with an acute angle finish beyond the reach of Vishnu. Scottish striker Stewart, the 'Hero' of the last ISL season for Jamshedpur FC, then opened his account at MCFC, with his signature calm-headed finish to give them the lead after the one-hour mark.

Spanish medio Alberto Noguera earned the penalty after he was brought down inside the box by rival defender Abhishek Joshy as Stewart put them ahead. Coming off the bench in the second-half, Chhangte then changed the complexion of the match with his attacking intent.

Making amends for his miss in the 75th minute, Chhangte then put the ball into the far corner to make it 3-1 just before the regulation time of play. He then utilised Gurkirat Singh's assist to perfection to complete his brace in the dying minutes to complete a facile win for MCFC.

Neroca crush TRAU FC 3-1 in first ever 'Imphal derby'

Meanwhile, in the second match of the day, Neroca FC put up a dominating show to beat local rivals TRAU FC 3-1 in a group C fixture of the Durand Cup at the Khuman Lampak stadium here on Thursday.

The first ever 'Imphal Derby' got off to an intense start with Tangva Ragui putting the Orange brigade ahead in 16th minute, only for Komron Tursunov to equalise three minutes later. But thereafter it was a Neroca domination all the way as Thomyo headed in the 36th minute to snatch back the lead.

Nigerian John Chidi took advantage of a defensive error to score the insurance goal in the 50th minute. This was the first game in Group C and the first ever football match in the state of Manipur as for the first time the Asia's oldest tournament is being held in multiple venues of Kolkata, Imphal and Guwahati.

Derby nerves were clear as tough football was on display right from the starting whistle. TRAU had the first shot at goal but goalkeeper Soram Porei was more than up to the task. But the Orange brigade took the lead following a good team effort with John and a cross from Lunminlen Haokip, which was brilliantly side-footed into the net by Tangva.

Neroca's joy, however, was short lived as the classy Tursunov got on the scoresheet, getting at the end of a cross from Khanngam. Attacks continued from both ends with NEROCA slowly getting the upper hand and finally got their reward when Thomyo headed in from a cross by the overlapping Singson.

Any hopes for a TRAU win went up in smoke just five minutes into the second-half from a defensive lapse. John intercepted a back-pass to the goalkeeper and calmly slotted it home to complete the tally. TRAU tried their best in the last 10 minutes but goalkeeper Porei thwarted all their efforts.

Story first published: Thursday, August 18, 2022, 23:05 [IST]
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