Durand Cup: Delhi FC strike late to hold Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army 1-1

Kokrajhar: I-League side Delhi FC rode on a late strike from Girish Khosla to hold Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army FC 1-1, in a Group E fixture of the Durand Cup, here on Wednesday. Dinesh Henjan gave the Nepal outfit a 39th-minute lead against the run of play and Delhi FC had to wait until the 88th minute to bring on the equaliser. Delhi FC pushed for a late winner but in the end both teams shared a point each. Delhi FC now have two draws from as many matches and have managed to stay on the top of the pile in Group E. Hyderabad FC and the Nepal outfit have one point each, having played one match each. Delhi FC started the first half on the front foot but it was the team from Nepal which created the first chance of the game. A fine team move on the right side saw Sudil Rai getting free, but his shot was saved well on the near post by Delhi goalkeeper Pawan Kumar. Delhi were more organised on the field while the side from Nepal were relying on long passes to the forwards. Himanshu Jangra’s free-kick was saved on to the post by Nepal keeper Bikesh Kuthu. However, both sides lacked creativity in the final stretch, which led to the lack of clear-cut opportunities. Tribhuvan Army took the lead through a mistake by Delhi FC goalkeeper Pawan Kumar when he spilt a cross from Nepal captain Nawayug Shrestha, which fell for Kamal Bahadur Thapa. He provided the assist for Dinesh Henjan who had to just divert the ball inside the goal. Delhi responded well after conceding and had some coordinated attacks, but the Tribhuvan defence held on to maintain their lead at halftime. Delhi FC started the second half with the intent of finding the equaliser but it was Tribhuvan who had the first shot on target. They forced a double save out of Pawan Kumar to keep the score line intact. Delhi continued to pile the pressure on the opponent, but Tribhuvan Army FC were organised in defence and did not give its forwards Bali Gagandeep and Himanshu Jangra any space inside the box. Delhi FC finally broke the resilient Army when Fahad Temuri fired in a low cross from the left, which was met well by substitute Kuntal Pakira. His shot beat the keeper but hit the crossbar and the rebound was bundled in by Girish Khosla.