Durand Cup 2024: Jamshedpur FC smash Assam Rifles

Jamshedpur FC begin their Durand Cup campaign with a good display of football.

Sanan Mohammed’s double helped Jamshedpur FC to a comfortable victory against Assam Rifles Football Team in a Group D encounter of the 133rd IndianOil Durand Cup played here at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Imran Khan scored the third goal for the winners.

Jamshedpur FC Head Coach Khalid Jamil named an all-Indian starting lineup with Len Doungel, Sanan Mohammed, Nikhil Barla, and Imran Khan leading the attack ahead of Mobashir Rahman and Emil Benny in midfield. Assam Rifles FT Head Coach Vikash Panthi named his strongest squad in a 4-4-2 formation.  

Jamshedpur dominated possession from the first whistle as the match was played inside the Assam Rifles half for the most part. The home side created chances in plenty after a barrage of attacks in the opposition goal but the Assam Rifles defence who were playing deep inside their box, thwarted the moves keeping the score goalless.

Goalkeeper Shobhan Dev Biswas expertly saved multiple efforts from Len Doungel, Sanan Mohammed and Nikhil Barla. They had a total of 10 shots on goal in the first half, showcasing the kind of domination in the field. Assam Rifles did have their moments through a couple of counter-attacks but the composure was lacking to convert those moves.

Deadlock Broken

The Red Miners finally broke the deadlock in the second minute of injury time through Sanan. Assam Rifles failed to clear a corner and Sanan latched on to the loose ball and finished it past the goalkeeper to give Jamshedpur the lead.

Assam Rifles started the second half brightly but The Red Miners took control of the game soon, creating chances at will. Len Doungel missed a sitter in front of the goal and second-half substitute Aniket Jadhav’s header was saved by the goalkeeper.

Sanan doubled the lead in the 68th minute putting the finishing touches to a very good team move. Imran Khan pulled a pass back into the box for the unmarked Sanan whose side-footed finish found the net and the Kerala forward completed his double in the game.  

Jamshedpur kept pushing to score more goals and they were creating chances from almost every move. The third goal came in the 86th minute when the Assam Rifles goalkeeper could not collect a cross from Ashutosh Mehta and the rebound fell to Imran Khan who finished expertly.

The home side saw off the remainder of the match to start the campaign with a comfortable win and bag all three points.

East Bengal to start their campaign tomorrow

East Bengal will start their campaign tomorrow against the Indian Air Force Football Team in a Group A encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 7 PM.

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