Durand Cup 2023: FC Goa, NorthEast United and Mohun Bagan SG ensure quarterfinal berths

Mohammedan SC missed out on a quarterfinal spot to its city rival and ISL champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant despite beating Jamshedpur 6-0 in its Group B match.

NorthEast United in action against Downtown Heroes FC during the 2023 Durand Cup match in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: PTI

David Lalhlansanga scored four goals as Mohammedan Sporting FC blanked Jamshedpur FC 6-0 to finish its group-B campaign of the 132nd Durand Cup on a strong note, at the Kishore Bharati Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.

Lalremsanga scored the other two goals in the match but Mohammedan SC missed out on a quarterfinal spot to its city rival and ISL champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant, which moved to the last-eight stage as one of the second-best runners-up, thanks to a better goal difference. 

Going into the match Mohammedan SC needed to win by a minimum of seven goals to qualify for the knock-outs but eventually fell short by one goal to Mohun Bagan (both having the same six points each), which had a goal difference of plus six against the plus five recorded by the former.

In another match played earlier in the day, ISL side NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) came up with a confident performance to beat debutant Downtown Heroes FC of Kashmir 3-1 in the final group-D match at Guwahati.

NEUFC incurred an early deficit when Parvaj Bhuiya put Downtown Heroes ahead in the eighth minute. The Highlanders came back strongly in the second half to see Ibson Melo (48th minute), Romain Philippoteaux (52 ^nd) and substitute Parthib Gogoi (78 ^th) score once each to make it an authoritative win at the end.

The win helped NEUFC join FC Goa on seven points but the latter became the group topper due to a better goal average. While FC Goa became the automatic qualifier, NEUFC joined Mohun Bagan in the quarters as the second-best runner-up.

The results:

Group B (Kolkata): Mohammedan SC 6 (Lalremsanga 10, 16, Lalhlansanga 28, 69, 82, 89) bt Jamshedpur FC 0.

Group D (Guwahati): North East United FC 3 (Melo 48, Philippoteaux 52, Gogoi 78) bt Downtown Heroes FC 1 (Bhuiya 8).