The Highlanders topped Group-E with seven points.
| Photo Credit: X@NEUtdFC
Spanish forward Jairo Samperio produced a late equaliser to help ISL club NorthEast United FC hold I-League 2 side Rangdajied United FC to a 2-2 draw in the concluding Group-E league match of the 134th Durand Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Monday.
NorthEast United shot into lead with Bekey Oram converting a penalty in the 24th minute. Randajied scored successive goals through forward Manbha and Danzel Umdor in the 32nd and 44th minutes to lead 2-1 at half-time.
However, Jairo scored in the 76th minute to save NorthEast United’s blushes. The Highlanders topped the group with seven points.
Army men bow out
The Indian Army Football Team came back from a two-goal deficit to beat 1 Ladakh FC 4–2 in its final Group-C engagement at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur.
The result lifted Indian Army to six points while securing the second spot in the group behind topper Jamshedpur FC (nine points). However, the Army men failed to secure a quarterfinal berth as one of the two second-best teams owing to an inferior goal difference (+2) compared to the top-two contenders — Shillong Lajong FC (+8) and Diamond Harbour FC (+4).
The results: Group-C (Jamshedpur): Indian Army FT 4 (Sama 41, Abhishek 45, Christopher 51-pen, Rahul 55) bt 1 Ladakh FC 2 (P. Kamalesh 23-pen, Vignesh 37).
Group-E (Shillong): NorthEast United FC 2 (Bekey Oram’s 24-pen, Jairo Samperio 76) drew with Rangdajied United FC 2 (Manbha 32, Danzel Umdor 44).
Published – August 11, 2025 10:06 pm IST
