NEROCA FC and Indian Navy FT played out a hard-fought goalless draw in their Group F encounter of the 134th Durand Cup.
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IMPHAL (MANIPUR) — NEROCA FC and Indian Navy FT played out a hard-fought goalless draw in their Group F encounter of the 134th Durand Cup to earn a point each at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here on Thursday. Despite several half-chances and moments of promise, both sides failed to find the finishing touch in a match that was high on midfield battles and defensive organisation.
Deny Singh of the Indian Navy made the first attempt in the 6th minute with a right-footed strike from the wing, but NEROCA’s keeper Jetli Sorokhaibam was equal to the task, diving low to his left to make a comfortable save.
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The Orange Brigade responded in the 11th minute when a throughball from midfield released Lourembam on the left. He sprinted down the flank and fired a shot at goal, but Bhaskar Roy handled it without fuss. The next few minutes saw NEROCA dominate possession, testing the Sailors’ defensive line with bursts from Lourembam and Rohit Meetei, but the Navy defenders held firm.
The Indian Navy had their moments too, with Deny Singh orchestrating the play from deep and threading through balls for Sreyas. However, the forward failed to capitalise on these opportunities; his shot in the 27th minute lacked power and went straight to the keeper.
The first half saw strong defensive displays from both sides. For NEROCA, Lucas Da Silva and Japes were particularly solid at the back, intercepting key runs and managing aerial balls well.
The best chance of the second half for the Sailors came in the 50th minute when Roshan Panna laid the ball off for Deny Singh, whose curling effort spun wide. Three minutes later, Deny had another crack from outside the box, but it went wide.NEROCA skipper Kinesh Singh nearly broke the deadlock in the 60th minute, but his left-footed placement off a lofted cross missed the target. Three minutes later, the Sailors were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, but Adersh’s effort struck the wall.
In the 88th minute, the Indian Navy came closest to a winner when substitute Sadananda Singh delivered a perfect ball to an unmarked Sreyas near the goal, only for the forward to hit the post. A minute later, Gomado had a similar opportunity at the other end but fired wide.
The last bit of drama came in the dying seconds of injury time when Zlex received a direct red card for a tactical foul on Roshan Panna, halting a Navy counterattack. Pintu, however, failed to trouble the keeper from the resulting free kick from the edge of the box as the referee blew the final whistle with the scoreline as 0-0.
Indian Navy FT, who are now on four points from two matches, remain on top of Group F and will face TRAU FC next on August 12. NEROCA FC, on two points, will take on Real Kashmir FC on August 10.