Durand Cup: Odisha FC beat Rajasthan United 2-1 to keep quarter-final hopes alive

Kokrajhar: Aphaoba Singh converted a penalty to help a young Odisha FC defeat I-League franchise Rajasthan United 2-1 for their first win of the Durand Cup, here on Friday. It’s now a three-way battle for the top spot in group F with Odisha, Rajasthan United and Indian Army having three points each in the race to the quarterfinals. After a barren first-half, Chandra Mohan Murmu’s 48th minute strike gave the Super Cup winners the lead. Adwin Tirkey’s corner was headed back into the danger area by Rahul Mukhi and it was finished expertly past the goalkeeper by Murmu. But their joy was short-lived as RUFC took three minutes to restore parity through Richardson Denzell. The Ghanaian struck a powerful shot from 30 yards out to bring up the equaliser. The match opened up after the goal as both teams looked to take the lead. Odisha were awarded a penalty as second half substitute Matthew Ofori Dunga fouled Rahul Mukhi inside the box. Aphaoba converted the penalty to give the young Odisha side the lead. Rajasthan went on the hunt for the equaliser but the youngsters from Odisha defended resiliently. The best chance to equalise came from a corner but Odisha captain Rakesh Oram cleared the ball. Rajasthan had a golden opportunity to snatch the equaliser in the final seconds of injury time from a corner. Odisha keeper missed the ball completely but Denzell who was waiting behind could only head it above the goal.