Kokrajhar (Assam) [India], August 13 : Bodoland FC capped off a dream group stage campaign in the 134th Durand Cup with a commanding 4-0 victory over ITBP FT here at the SAI Stadium in front of over 12,000 ecstatic home fans.
The win saw the home side finish top of Group D with a perfect nine points from three matches, qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time in their history on Wednesday, as per a release from the Durand Cup.
Both teams came into the contest unbeaten, but the hosts, unchanged from the side that stunned ISL outfit Punjab FC except for Urjoy Brahma replacing Manabir Basumatary at left-back, immediately took control in drizzling rain. Colombian striker Robinson led the line in Vikash Panthi's 4-2-3-1, while ITBP head coach Surojit Kumar Prodhani made four changes to his 4-3-3 in search of a more attacking edge.
The opening exchanges saw Bodoland dominate possession, with Junior Onguene, Pedro Astray, and Robinson testing ITBP goalkeeper Ugesh Lama. Against the run of play, ITBP almost snatched the lead in the 14th minute when Srikumar Karjee broke through, only to drag his shot wide.
Bodoland's breakthrough arrived in the 25th minute, when Pedro Astray put a peach of a ball from his free kick near the halfway line. Timothi Narzary, who had shot wide a minute earlier, rose to the occasion to head powerfully down at the near post, giving Lama no chance and igniting the stands.
Twelve minutes later, Bodoland doubled their advantage when Pradipta Biswas fouled Robinson inside the box, and the referee wasted no time in pointing towards the spot. Spaniard Pedro stepped up to convert the spot-kick with a precise left-foot strike into the bottom right corner.
The home side were relentless with their waves of attack, and in the 40th minute they made it 3-0 with a sweeping team move. Robinson fed Junior, whose defence-splitting diagonal pass released Gwgwmsar Gayary. The winger coolly slotted between Lama's legs to put Bodoland firmly in control at the break.
The second half opened with end-to-end action despite heavier rain. ITBP's best chance came just after the hour mark when a loose back pass gifted Leimajan Singh a sight at goal, but Bodoland's defence recovered swiftly. Junior thought he had scored the fourth in the 78th minute, only for the offside flag to deny him.
The fourth did arrive in the 82nd minute. From Pedro's corner, Lama's punch fell to Rabha outside the box, whose shot deflected to Abdul Samed Ango. The Ghanaian pounced, firing low into the near post to complete the rout.
Bodoland goalkeeper Diamary was called into serious action only in the 85th minute, tipping away a long-range effort from Lungunhao Sitlhou. The hosts comfortably saw out the closing stages to preserve their perfect defensive record in the tournament so far.
The final whistle sparked jubilation in the crowd as Bodoland FC, in their third Durand Cup season, not only topped Group D but did so unbeaten, scoring seven goals and conceding just one.
Bodoland FC will join the Indian Navy Football Team (Group F), who qualified earlier today, and the other seven teams in the quarterfinal lineup for the 134th edition of Asia's oldest football tournament. Other teams to make it to the quarterfinals are Emami East Bengal (Group A), Mohun Bagan SG (Group B), Jamshedpur FC (Group C) and NorthEast United FC (Group E), while Shillong Lajong FC (Group E) and Diamond Harbour FC (Group B) advance as the two best second-placed sides with six points and goal differences of +7 and +4 respectively.