Durand Cup 2025: Indian Army FT beat ten-men Tribhuwan Army FC by one goal

P. Christopher Kamei's lone first-half strike enabled Indian Army FT to overcome ten-man Tribhuwan Army FC in a Group C fixture of the 134th IndianOil Durand Cup to mark their first success of the competition. The fixture was staged at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Tribhuwan Army FC ended their season in the Durand Cup with one point from three games, while three points from two games is the tally of Indian Army.

Gagandeep Singh replaced suspended Sayad Bin Abdul Qadir as the goalkeeper for the Indian Army FT. Head coach Manish Wahi gave opportunities to Abhishek Shankar Powar and Wangden Tamang in place of Shubham Rana and Sameer Murmu. Tribhuwan Army FC head coach Meghraj KC also made three changes for their last group match, bringing in Neeraj Choudhary, Anil Bomjan, and Srijan Dani in place of Avishkar Khadka, George Prince Karki, and Niranjan Dhami.

Tribhuwan Army started the match aggressively and kept control of the ball. They had the first good chance of the game with Gagandeep Singh saving Gillespie Jung Karki's header. The Indian Army team started to find their rhythm and kept control of the ball, and took the lead in the 21st minute. Wangden Tamang played a cross from the left wing to P. Christopher Kamei on the edge of the box, who controlled the ball with his left foot, and with a precise low shot, the experienced midfielder beat the diving goalkeeper and put the ball into the bottom corner.

The going got tough for Nepal as they were reduced to 10 men in the 29th minute. Goalkeeper Vikas Kuthu was shown a straight red card for a careless foul on Liton Shill outside the penalty box while he was trying to stop the striker, who had broken free from the defence and reached the goalkeeper. The free kick taken by goal scorer Christopher Kamei hit the crossbar.

The Nepal Army team showed grit despite being one man short and kept pushing forward in search of an equaliser. The forwards managed to create some good positions in the danger zone, but a strong defence and some saves from the Indian Army kept them from scoring, and the score remained level till the break.

Indian Army maintained possession of the ball since the restart but could not capitalise on their players' advantage as Tribhuwan Army showed resilience in defence, making it difficult for the Indian Army attackers to score the second goal. They were wasteful in front of the goal as well, and Liton Shill missed three chances to score. On the other hand, Nepal, playing on the counter-attack, missed a golden opportunity to equalise.

Dishanta Rai failed to clear a cross from the left wing as the substitute's shot went wide. Moments earlier, skipper Gillespie Karki was unlucky as his powerful header from a corner kick hit the crossbar while the goalkeeper stood firm. Tribhuwan Sena looked dangerous every time they went on the counter-attack, but they were not very effective in the final third. In the end, Christopher Kamei's first-half goal was enough to secure their first win of the tournament and three points.