RANCHI, AUG 16 (PTI): SC Delhi produced a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat debutants FC Raengdai of Manipur 5-1 and storm into the semifinals of the Durand Cup football tournament here on Sunday.
After Chongtham Kishan Singh’s (9th minute) stunning long-range strike had put Raengdai ahead in the first half, substitute Joseph Sunny’s (57th, 67th) second-half brace turned the game around.
Rodriguinho (82nd), Juan Sebastian Pena (90+3) and Augustine Lalrochana (90+8) were the other SC Delhi goal scorers in the quarter-final match.
FC Raengdai made their intentions clear from the opening whistle, controlling possession, moving the ball patiently and pressing high.
SC Delhi, however, threatened on the counter in the seventh minute when captain Lamgoulen Semkholun delivered an excellent cross from the right. Pena produced a fantastic leap to direct his header towards the far post, but the ball bounced over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, FC Raengdai took the lead in spectacular fashion. Chongtham Kishan Singh unleashed a bullet of a shot from around 20 metres that dipped late, struck the inside of the crossbar and bounced into the net, leaving SC Delhi goalkeeper Nora Fernandes with no chance.
SC Delhi immediately went looking for the equaliser and created a flurry of attacks. Raengdai’s defensive unit, led by Rojen Meetei, Lanchungrei Pamei and Amitkumar Singh, remained disciplined and repeatedly denied SC Delhi. At the other end, Khaidem Amarjit Singh looked lively for the debutants as the contest developed into an end-to-end affair.
SC Delhi came even closer in the 33rd minute when Semkholun rose to meet a cross, only for Rojen Meetei to make a composed defensive intervention and concede a corner. From the resulting attacking move, Lalrinliana Hnamte headed towards goal from a difficult angle, but his effort struck the post.
SC Delhi emerged with greater purpose after the restart, and the introduction of Joseph Sunny proved decisive. The substitute came close to making an immediate impact in the 52nd minute after a brilliant run, before squaring the ball to Rodriguinho. The forward’s effort appeared destined for the net, but Kamei Pantiga produced a superb save to preserve Raengdai’s lead.
Five minutes later, however, the goalkeeper could do nothing. Pena produced a clever move before releasing Sunny, who collected the ball on the edge of the box and fired a precise low finish between two defenders into the bottom-left corner to level the contest.
The equaliser transformed SC Delhi’s confidence. Ten minutes later, Pena was once again at the heart of the attack, producing a sublime no-look pass that released Sunny with an inch-perfect run into the penalty area. The substitute found himself one-on-one with Pantiga and calmly finished past the goalkeeper to complete the turnaround.
Rodriguinho scored four minutes later. The forward showed excellent composure to work his way past two defenders while controlling the ball before slotting a left-footed finish beyond Pantiga to put SC Delhi 3-1 ahead.
The final stages turned into a goal fest. In the third minute of stoppage time, Pena produced a superb dribbling run into the box before calmly applying a no-look finish to make it 4-1.
SC Delhi added one more goal before the final whistle. Substitute Augustine Lalrochana picked up the ball on the left in the eighth minute of added time, drove all the way into the box and finished stylishly into the far corner to complete the emphatic 5-1 victory.
SC Delhi will face the winner of the second quarter-final between Indian Army Football Team and East Bengal FC in the semi-final on August 19 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.