NEROCA FC finished their 135th Durand Cup campaign on a high in front of their home crowd as the Imphal-based side came from behind to overcome a nine-man, gritty FC Raengdai 3-1 at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in the Manipur capital on Wednesday.However, their first loss in the tournament had little bearing on the Noney-based Raengdai’s fortunes as the impressive debutants have already secured their passage to the knockout stage as Group D leaders following consecutive wins in their first two rounds of matches. But Wednesday was NEROCA’s day.Raengdai, who have beaten TRAU FC and Indian Navy FT earlier in the group, took the lead in the 19th minute through centre-back Jonah Kamei, when the captain headed in a corner into the bottom corner. NEROCA drew parity eight minutes later.Raengdai midfielder Thoudam Nani Singh put the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear a ball after NEROCA striker Modou Mbengue squared one pass towards his teammates inside the area. The game was level till the half-time whistle, but it changed complexion after the lemon break as Raengdai were reduced to nine men in a span of four minutes before the hour mark.While winger PM Rakeveiche was shown a straight red in the 55th minute for a high-boot challenge on NEROCA defender Soibam Abhinash Singh, substitute Soraisham Surjakanta Singh got the marching order following a second yellow, leaving Raengdai hard pressed with two-man deficit.NEROCA capitalised on their advantage to dominate possession, but failed to break a stubborn Raengdai defence until two minutes from full time.Substitute Chabungbam Linky Meitei rose to head home a cross from fellow substitute Imarson Meitei as goalkeeper Yaithengbam Suraj Singh failed to react on time to see it go into the net near the first post. Yumnam Renedy Meitei then completed the scoreline four minutes into the stoppage time with a composed finish past the goalkeeper at the bottom left corner.NEROCA finished their journey in this edition with four points from three matches as Raengdai ended the group league on top with six points on their way to the last-eight stage.Later in the day, Indian Army FT produced a spirited second-half comeback to defeat Mohammedan SC 2-1 in the final fixture to finish atop Group B with a perfect nine points from three matches and secure a place in the quarterfinals.
