Army Green, Sudeva Delhi play out stalemate

The armed forces team now has four points from two matches.

Army Green (AGFT) wasted chances in the second half to play out a goalless draw in their encounter against Sudeva Delhi FC (Sudeva) in a Group D Match of the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup played here at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. Sudeva dominated possession in the first half and made it hard for the Greens in the middle of the park, but it was the Army men who created more in the second, but none of the teams could break the deadlock.

High pressing first half

It was a high intensity start to the game, with both teams pressing high to retain possession. This created a lot of changeovers as both midfields could not maintain the ball for long periods of time. Sudeva slowly started to control the game and started to create some moves in the Greens half.

The Army men were not able to move beyond the midfield, but they defended well with Soubhagyan Somraj and Sebin Varghese leading the back line. The Army defence were also helped by Sudeva, who were not clinical in the final third.

The best chance of the first half came in stoppage time to AGFT. A dead ball kick from their captain P.C Lallawmkima found an unmarked Anurag Gusain, who had the the whole post free but his header went over the bar. A goal at this time would have been immense for the Army but it remained nil at half time.

Army Green dominates the second half

Army Green dominated the second half and controlled the proceedings. Manager Robikanta Singh made changes that saw the Army team being livelier and piling on the pressure on the Sudeva defence. Substitute Alan Thapa had an excellent outing on the left flank, making darting runs through the wings and putting in the crosses. One such move saw Alan’s cross completely missed by Albion Jose, who found himself unmarked inside the box.

Army Green were creative with their set pieces and were creating chances from them. A corner from the right found Lallawmkima, whose header went wide even after Sebin’s attempt to divert it in. Sudeva captain Nishchal Chandan defended well in crucial situations putting out some excellent tackles to deny the Greens.

The draw takes AGFT to four points from two matches and Sudeva now have two points from the same number of matches.

Next matches of Army Green and Sudeva Delhi FC

Sudeva Delhi FC will face Odisha FC next on 29th August and Army Green Football Team will play Kerala Blasters FC on 31st August.

Tomorrow’s Matches

Hyderabad FC will be up against Chennaiyin FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal and Jamshedpur FC will be playing FC Goa at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.