Although sunil

Emami East Bengal FC: In an entertaining battle of debutants, I-League side Namdhari Sports Academy rode on two late second-half strikes by Bhupinder and Brazilian Cledson Dasilva for an opening win over Bengaluru’s South United FC (SUFC) in match 10 of the ongoing 134th Durand Cup at the lush green Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK) turf here on Wednesday.

The result means SUFC end their debut Durand campaign with a solitary point in Group A after completing all three matches. Namdhari will gain confidence and move to bigger battles ahead in their pursuit of qualification for the knockouts. South United, taking the field in their traditional orange for the first time, did not quite change their fortunes too much, but they delivered yet another spirited performance.

Coach Kaja Bhadussa of SUFC even changed keeper Nishanth to give Sunil Singh a chance under the SUFC bar, as part of five changes made from their previous draw against the Indian Air Force. Although Sunil repaid the faith shown in full with a brilliant display, it was not going to be enough in the end.