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Neroca FC come away with Imphal Derby bragging rights as 131stIndianOil Durand Cup gets off to a rousing start in Manipur
Neroca FC- 3 (Tangva 16′ Thomyo 36′ John Chidi 50′) TRAU FC – 1 (Komron 19′)
Imphal, Thursday, August 18, 2022: Neroca FC came away with the Imphal Derby bragging rights, posting a 3-1 victory over Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC at the Khuman Lampak stadium here, as the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup got off to a rousing start in the state of Manipur. Tangva Ragui put the Orange brigade ahead as early as the 16thminute, only for Komron Tursunov to equalize three minutes later. Thomyo then headed in to put Neroca ahead again, before Nigerian John Chidi took advantage of a defensive error to score the insurance goal, in the 50th minute of the second half. This was the first game in Group C and more importantly, the first ever football match in the state of Manipur.
Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon. Defence Minister, Government of India and Shri. N. Biren Singh, Hon. Chief Minister, Manipur, grace the opening ceremony
The 131st IndianOil Durand Cup is being supported in Manipur by the Government of Manipur and the elaborate opening ceremony organized before the historic first-ever Durand Cup game in the State, was graced by Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon. Defence Minister, Government of India and Shri. N. Biren Singh, Hon. Chief Minister, Manipur, in front of a crowd of over 25,000 people.
Incidentally, the Manipur Chief Minister is also a former winner of the Durand Cup.
The ceremony also included an Armed Forces bands display as well as an energetic performance of the tournament theme song by star singers Papon and Rewben Mashangwa.
The ceremony concluded with the playing of the FIFA Theme song and introduction of dignitaries with the players and their photos with the teams and the Durand Trophies.
End to end first-half
Derby nerves were clear as end to end as well as tough football was on display right from the starting whistle with both sides not willing to give an inch. TRAU in-fact had the first real chance as the Neroca defence was caught but keeper Soram Porei was more than up to the task.
Then came the goal, a good team effort by the Orange brigade involving John and a cross from Lunminlen Haokip which was brilliantly side-footed into the net by Tangva who literally bulldozed into the box.
Neroca’s joy was short lived however as the classy Komron Tursunov got on the scoresheet, getting at the end of a cross from Khanngam.
Attacks continued from both ends with Neroca slowly getting the upper hand and they finally got their reward when Thomyo headed in from a cross by the overlapping Singson. The Orange supporters were definitely the happier going into the break and they would remain so till the end.
Chidi steals the insurance goal
Any hopes of a win that TRAU would have nurtured going into the break, evaporated just five minutes into the second-half and largely of their own doing. John Chidi always lurking around, intercepted a catastrophic back-pass to the keeper and calmly slotted home and Neroca were 3-1 up in the derby.
There opponents looked a little bereft of ideas after the third goal and both teams seemed content on ball possession. The frustration of the TRAU players in particular also led to a bit of needle on the field.
TRAU did give it their all in the last 10-mins or so to be fair but keeper Porei stood tall. The best chance they had of getting one back came in the fourth minute of added time when Arjun Singh found Komron with a brilliant cross from the right, but to everyone’s surprise, the Tajik missed a relatively easy tap-in by his standards.
Next games of BFC and JFC
Neroca have a longer break before their second game, taking on the Army Red on the 24th of August at the same venue, while TRAU go head-to-head against Hyderabad FC on the 22nd of August at the Khuman Lampak as well.
Ticket Information
India’s leading entertainment destination BookMyShow has been roped in as exclusive ticketing partners for the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup.
Fans can book their tickets to all the league stage games of the tournament exclusively on www.bookmyshow.com.
In addition, Box Office services have already been made operational for fans in respective host cities.
The details are as follows:
For Group Stage Games
Kolkata
VYBK GATE- 4A BOX OFFICE
17th August onwards, 10 am – 5pm
Apart from this, match tickets for the three home teams in Kolkata will be sold and redeemed from respective clubs and stadiums concerned with the respective matches from Matchday -2
Guwahati ongoing
12th August onwards
SAI Box office, Paltan Bazar 10 am – 5pm
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Gate – 1 Box office
10am – 5pm
Imphal ongoing
13th August onwards
Khuman Lampak Stadium
Gate – 1 & Gate – 2 Box Offices
Tentative timing – 8:30 am – 4:00pm (To be confirmed)
Above Box Offices will be operational throughout the Group Stage matches of respective cities.
Ticket prices
Guwahati – Rs 50, 100, 250
Imphal- Rs 50, 100, 300
Kolkata – Rs 50, 100, (200 only for VYBK)
BOX OFFICE will be dealing with Online redemption and Offline cash Sale
Broadcast & Live-stream details
Sports18 is available on the following service providers:
DTH Service SD Channel # HD Channel # Tata Play 488 Airtel Digital 293 JioTV+ 262 261 Sun Direct 505 983
Voot is available to download for free on all mobile app stores and on Connected TVs.
About Durand Cup
A symbol of India’s football history and culture, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament. Organized by the Indian Armed Forces, the Durand Cup has been the breeding ground for India’s best footballing talent, over the years.
The inaugural edition happened in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India, but soon opened up to civilian teams. Named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India from 1884 to 1889,
the iconic tournament reached its 130th edition in 2021. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been the most successful teams, winning the tournament 16 times each.
