New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Former I-League team ONGC moved into the semi-finals of the Durand Cup football with a 2-1 win over Pune FC while Indian Navy were held to a 0-0 draw by Bhawanipur FC here on Friday and will have to wait to know their fate.
Two victories on the trot helped ONGC become the first team to qualify for the semis.
Henry Ezeh’s brace at the Ambedkar Stadium gave ONGC a comfortable 2-0 lead but an own goal by Adela Hassan brought Pune back into the game.
But with time ticking down, Pune weren’t able to find the equaliser and were knocked out.
After a low quality first half, where either team failed to make any real chances, the second half saw three goals in the space of five minutes.
ONGC’s first came through a penalty with Henry being brought down in the box by Sumit Kumar Dubey. The right back had no business going for the tackle with the Nigerian posing no real threat.
Henry dusted himself off and slotted the penalty to the bottom right of the goal. The Nigerian’s second came just a minute later and this time he cut in from the right, leaving the Pune centre-back stranded, and finished with a powerful shot.
Pune’s goal came in fortuitous circumstances with Rushab Dhere sending a dangerous grounded cross from the left. With a Pune player behind him, Hassan had no choice but to stick a leg out, unfortunately for him the ball ended at the back of his own net.
In the second match of the day, Bhawanipur and Indian Navy played out a drab draw.
In terms of possession, the first half belonged to the Indian Navy but barring a long distance shot from Mukesh Kumar, they really didn’t trouble the opposition goalkeeper.
Bhawanipur took the initiative in the second half and had majority of the ball but they too failed to take advantage and couldn’t find any clear cut chances.
Indian Navy had a golden chance to secure a semis berth after their win against defending champions Air India in the first game but failed to take their chances and will now have to wait for the result between Bhawanipur and Air India.
Air India are already out but of Bhawanipur manage to beat them 3-0 or more then they would be in the semis.
