In the battle for supremacy in the North-East, Manipur’s Neroca FC edged past I-League first division team Aizawl FC 1-0 in a Pool B match of the 128th Durand Cup football tournament at Ambedkar Stadi
In the battle for supremacy in the North-East, Manipur’s Neroca FC edged past I-League first division team Aizawl FC 1-0 in a Pool B match of the 128th Durand Cup football tournament at Ambedkar Stadium here on Saturday.
In Pool A, Army Green were held to a 2-2 draw by the bottom placed Minerva FC of Chandigarh.
A large crowd witnessed a titanic struggle between the two teams from the North-East, who faced each other for the first time. The match started on a brisk note and Neroca’s attacking midfielder David Lal Biaklara scored in the 11th minute with a rising shot.
Aizawl FC attacked relentlessly in the second half but Neroca’s defence, which had skipper and goalkeeper Lalit Thapa and Liberian defender Kalon Varne, proved too strong for them to breach. A bonus of '2,000 for each player was announced by the Neroca FC after the win.
Neroca now move to the top of Pool B with seven points from three matches. Aizawl are second with six points from three matches.
Meanwhile, a header from midfielder P.V. Linesh in the 26th minute and striker P.C. Lallawmnika’s penalty kick conversion in the 35th minute put Army Green ahead 2-0. However, Minerva rallied back in the second half as their striker Marcus Lopez reduced the margin with a powerful header in the 47th minute and went on to equalise at the hour mark converting a penalty kick.
Army Green are now third in Pool A with five points from three matches and Minerva FC are lurking at the bottom of the six team group with one point from three matches.
In the day’s last match, Sporting Clube de Goa returned to form and played scintillating, attacking football to trounce Gangtok Himal-ayan (Sikkim) 5-1 in Pool B.
