Neroca came into this game as firm favourites after beating local rivals TRAU FC 3-1. ( Source: Durand cup / Twitter)Home favourite Neroca FC settled for a goalless draw with the Army Red Football Team (ARFT) in their second Group C game in the Durand Cup at the Khuman Lampak Stadium .
Neroca came into this game as firm favourites after beating local rivals TRAU FC 3-1. However, a good defensive work by the ARFT footballers denied the wasteful Neroca side a chance to register their second consecutive win in the tournament. Neroca showed more eagerness in the first half but failed to create any meaningful chances, thanks to the Army defenders who defended smartly.
As the first half ended goalless, it was Neroca that started the other half by pressing hard but squandered the chances to open the scoring.
š š®š„š„ šš¢š¦š!
The game ends in a stalemate Army Red FT share points with @NerocaFC
Thanks for joining us.#ARED 0-0 #NFC#AREDNFC āļø#KLS šļø#DurandCup š#IndianOilDurandCup #DurandCup2022 #131stIndianOilDurandCup #IndianFootballForwardTogether š¤#IndianFootball ā½ pic.twitter.com/1GzXrHex1T— Durand Cup (@thedurandcup) August 24, 2022
Neroca’s Michael Lunminlal Kipgen exhibited some great individual work and created a half-chance of sorts at the hour mark, but was eventually off-target.Four minutes later, Lunminal was at it again as he delivered a cross with pin-point accuracy to young forward Thomyo Shimray, who attempted a side-volley but missed out on scoring.
Subscriber Only Stories
The Army side did get one opportunity to break the deadlock with three minutes left on the clock, as substitute Pradeep Kumar, unleashed a left-footer from 20 yards but was denied by Neroca custodian Sonal Porei, who was awarded the Man of the Match.