Real Kashmir FC on Saturday thwarted a strong challenge from a young FC Goa side to ensure a 0-0 draw and advance to the semifinals of the Durand Cup football tournament.
Both sides were locked on seven points apiece after splitting points in their last Group-C outing at Kalyani, but RKFC made it to the last-four on a better goal difference.
RKFC will meet Group-B topper Mohun Bagan, while Group-A leader East Bengal will take on the best Group-D team Gokulam Kerala FC in an all-I-League affair on Wednesday.
Aggressive start
In a virtual quarterfinal, RKFC started on an attacking note but received some solid retaliation from FC Goa. Livewire Liston Colaco provided a fine chance to Lalawmpuia in the 23rd minute but the latter hit the post to the utter disappointment of the Indian Super League franchise.
FC Goa weathered the wrath of RKFC, led by Danish Farooq, in the second half. One of Danish’s forays was nicely tackled by Goa captain Leander Dcunha in the 54th minute, while another header from a long free-kick was saved by custodian Antonio D’Silva in the 65th minute.
Goa had a last try through Kingsley Fernandes in the 90th minute but the RKFC defence, led by its alert keeper Phurba Lachenpa, foiled the plot.
The Group-D match between bottom-placed teams TRAU FC and Chennaiyin FC which got postponed owing to bad weather conditions on Friday, was abandoned on Saturday due to force majeure.
The result assured Gokulam, which has six points, of a place in the semifinals.
In case the Kerala outfit loses to TRAU and Indian Air Force (which is second with three points) beats Chennaiyin in their last group matches, Gokulam — which earlier defeated IAF 3-0 — will go through on head-to-head result.
The results:
Group-A: Jamshedpur FC 3 (Vimal 2, Aakash 51, Nabin 80) drew with Bengaluru FC 3 (Leon 45, Suresh 90-p and 95-p).
Group-B: Mohun Bagan 1 (Fran Gonzalez 58-p) bt Indian Navy 0.
Group-C: Real Kashmir 0 drew with FC Goa 0.
Group-D: Chennaiyin FC vs TRAU FC match abandoned .
