Bodoland FC capped off a dream group stage campaign in the 134th IndianOil Durand Cup with a commanding 4–0 victory over ITBP FT at the Kokrajhar SAI Stadium in front of over 12,000 delirious fans. The win saw the home side finish top of Group D with a perfect nine points from three matches, qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
Both teams came into the contest unbeaten, but the hosts, unchanged from the side that stunned ISL outfit Punjab FC except for Urjoy Brahma replacing Manabir Basumatary at left-back, immediately took control in drizzling rain. Colombian striker Robinson led the line in Vikash Panthi’s 4-2-3-1, while ITBP head coach Surojit Kumar Prodhani made four changes to his 4-3-3 in search of a more attacking edge.
The opening exchanges saw Bodoland dominate possession, with Junior Onguene, Pedro Astray, and Robinson testing ITBP goalkeeper Ugesh Lama. Against the run of play, ITBP almost snatched the lead in the 14th minute when Srikumar Karjee broke through, only to drag his shot wide.
Bodoland’s breakthrough arrived in the 25th minute, when Pedro Astray put a peach of a ball from his free-kick near the halfway line, Timothi Narzary, who had shot wide a minute earlier, rose to the occasion to head powerfully down at the near post, giving Lama no chance and igniting the stands.
Twelve minutes later, Bodoland doubled their advantage when Pradipta Biswas fouled Robinson inside the box and the referee wasted no time in pointing towards the spot. Spaniard Pedro stepped up to convert the spot-kick with a precise left-foot strike into the bottom right corner.
The home side were relentless with their waves of attack, and in the 40th minute they made it 3–0 with a sweeping team move. Robinson fed Junior, whose defence-splitting diagonal pass released Gwgwmsar Gayary. The winger coolly slotted between Lama’s legs to put Bodoland firmly in control at the break.
The second half opened with end-to-end action despite heavier rain. ITBP’s best chance came just after the hour mark when a loose back pass gifted Leimajan Singh a sight at goal, but Bodoland’s defence recovered swiftly. Junior thought he had scored the fourth in the 78th minute only for the offside flag to deny him.
The fourth did arrive in the 82nd minute. From Pedro’s corner, Lama’s punch fell to Rabha outside the box, whose shot deflected to Abdul Samed Ango. The Ghanaian pounced, firing low into the near post to complete the rout.
Bodoland goalkeeper Diamary was called into serious action only in the 85th minute, tipping away a long-range effort from Lungunhao Sitlhou. The hosts comfortably saw out the closing stages to preserve their perfect defensive record in the tournament so far.
The final whistle sparked jubilation in the crowd as Bodoland FC, in their third Durand Cup season, not only topped Group D but did so unbeaten, scoring seven goals and conceding just one.
Bodoland FC will join the Indian Navy Football Team (Group F), who qualified earlier today, and the other seven teams in the quarterfinal’s lineup for the 134th edition of Asia’s oldest football tournament. Other teams to make it to the quarterfinals are Emami East Bengal (Group A), Mohun Bagan SG (Group B), Jamshedpur FC (Group C) and NorthEast United FC (Group E), while Shillong Lajong FC (Group E) and Diamond Harbour FC (Group B) advance as the two best second-placed sides with six points and goal differences of +7 and +4 respectively.
Meanwhile in Imphal, late goals by Pintu Mahata and Sreyas VG ensured Indian Navy FT overturn a one goal deficit to overcome local side TRAU FC 2-1 and book their spot in the quarterfinals from Group F of the 134th IndianOil Durand Cup which was played at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium. TRAU took the lead in the 29th minute through Moirangthem Nelson Singh but the equaliser in the 87th minute by Pintu and the winning goal by Sreyas in the third minute of injury time ensured the Navy men finish on top of the group with seven points ahead of Real Kashmir FC who finished their campaign with six points.
TRAU FC Head Coach, Thangjam Saran Singh made one forced change, bringing in Dhanachandra Mutum in place of the suspended Captain Shitaljit Atom while Indian Navy FT Head Coach Raman Rai started with the same line up for the all-important match.
It was end to action in the first quarter of the match with Indian Navy showing urgency and attacking with purpose. The attacking trio of Vijay Marandi, Roshan Panna and Sreyas V.G combined well with midfielders Pintu Mahata and J. Vijay to trouble the TRAU defence but the home side showed promise on the counter attacks, using the space left by the Navy men who committed numbers in attack.
RESULTS: Bodoland FC 4 (Timothi Narzary 25’, Pedro Astray 37’ [P], Gwgwmsar Gayary 40’, Abdul Samed Ango 82’) ITBP FT 0; TRAU FC 1 (Nelson 29’) Indian Navy FT 2 (Pintu 87’, Sreyas 90+3)
All matches live on Sony Sports