NorthEast United thrash Diamond Harbour 6-1 to retain Durand Cup title

Kolkata, Aug 23 (PTI) Defending champions NorthEast United FC dished out a dominant performance to thrash debutants Diamond Harbour FC 6-1 in the grand finale of the 134th Indian Oil Durand Cup, clinching their second successive title in style.

On a night of relentless attacking football at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, the Highlanders had six different scorers — Asheer Akhtar (30th), Parthib Gogoi (45+1st), Thoi Singh (50th), Jairo (81st), Andy (85th) and Alaaeddine Ajaraie (90+3rd).

Diamond Harbour pulled one back in the 68th minute when Jobby Justin’s header deflected in off Luka Majcen.

The final began at a brisk pace, with both sides cautious in possession. But it was the defending champions who struck first. A clever cut-back from Samte in the 28th minute found Parthib, whose effort was parried away by Mirshad. From the resulting corner came the breakthrough.

Andy’s delivery was poorly dealt with by the Diamond Harbour defence, and though Mirshad produced a fine initial stop from Mayakkannan’s strike, the loose ball fell to centre-back Asheer Akhtar, who swept it home to give the champions a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.

Chema Nunez squandered a gilt-edged chance to double the advantage in the 39th minute, dragging his shot wide after Ajaraie’s clever build-up play. Diamond Harbour nearly punished that lapse when Kortazar had a free header in the 43rd minute, but the opportunity went begging.

Right on the stroke of half-time, NorthEast delivered a hammer blow. Parthib Gogoi found himself in space and curled a composed right-foot finish beyond Mirshad to make it 2-0.

The Highlanders went into the interval with a firm grip on proceedings, boasting eight shots (six on target) to Diamond Harbour’s four (just one on target).

Any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out within five minutes of the restart. Ajaraie surged past the backline to collect Nunez’s lofted pass and squared unselfishly for Thoi Singh, who tapped home to extend the lead to 3-0 in the 50th minute.

Gurmeet then kept out a thunderous effort from Liansanga in the 63rd minute, preserving his clean sheet for five more minutes.

In the 68th minute, Jobby Justin’s header from a Robilal Mandi corner took a heavy deflection off Majcen’s body, wrong-footing Gurmeet and pulling one back for Diamond Harbour.

The debutants briefly threatened, with Jobby and Paul both squandering chances in quick succession, but NorthEast quickly reasserted control.

In the 81st minute, substitute Jairo pounced on a punched clearance by Mirshad, rifling home a thunderous strike from the edge of the box to restore the three-goal cushion at 4-1.

Ajaraie, who was a constant menace, turned provider again in the 85th minute. His low cross from the left was met by a sliding finish from Andy, making it 5-1 and marking Ajaraie’s third assist of the night.

The Moroccan forward then put the icing on the cake. In stoppage time, his curling strike from distance rattled the post, but he was quickest to the rebound, drawing a foul from Sairuatkima inside the box.

From the spot, Ajaraie calmly converted to cap a sensational personal display and complete the 6-1 rout.

As the final whistle blew, the Highlanders’ bench erupted in celebration in front of a packed crowd, lifting the Durand Cup trophy for the second year in a row — becoming the first team to defend the title in 25 years. PTI ATK KHS