In a battle of debutants, Gangtok Himalayan moved past Minerva Academy 2-0 in a Group ‘A’ clash of the Durand Cup football tournament at the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium here on Tuesday.
After a goalless first session, in which Minerva was reduced to 10 men following a 42nd minute red card to Jermanjit Singh for a foul on John Kane Arhu, Gangtok thrived on the numerical superiority.
Seven minutes into the second half, Sanjay Chettri’s corner kick was headed in by Bhaichung Bhutia Jr. The lead stood doubled in the 70th minute when Bhutia’s cross from the right flank saw Arhu head the ball home from inside the six-yard box.
The margin could have been much bigger but for some good work from Minerva’s goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh, who otherwise looked suspect in dealing with the ball, floating inside the box.
The winning start put Gangtok on top of the table in its group.
Earlier, in the same group, Indian Navy and Army Green were locked 1-1 at Harbaksh Singh Stadium. Bikram Adhikari scored for Indian Navy in the 29th minute. P. C. Lallawmkina equalized for Army Green in the 59th minute.
In Group ‘B’, Army Red squandered a one-goal lead and later hit back to it 2-2 against a fighting Indian Air Force in a drawn encounter at the Ambedkar Stadium.
Army Red took the lead through C. Lallianmawia in the 30th minute. Undeterred, IAF struck twice in the closing moments of the first half when Sourav Shadu Khan and Arshpreet Singh beat the rival defence.
However, IAF’s dream of snatching three points was dashed when P. Jain scored for Army Red in the 85th minute.
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