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TRAU FC rallied back from behind to beat Army Red FT (ARFT) 2-1 for their first victory of the Durand Cup 2022 at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal on Sunday.
While TRAU FC had lost both their matches coming into this contest, ARFT have had plenty of positives with a thrilling draw with Chennaiyin FC and another goalless stalemate with NEROCA FC.
However, it was the Imphal-based club that started the game on the front foot and carved open the Army defense with a brilliant through ball. ARFT goalkeeper Bhabindra Thakuri charged down and cleared the ball away.
As the minutes went on, Army Red slowly started to grow into the game. In the 27th minute, they came close to opening the scoring through Lethaolen Khongsai, who wriggled past TRAU FC defenders but his effort was off target.
10 minutes later, ARFT's top player Liton Shil finally broke the deadlock after his initial effort was blocked by the TRAU FC custodian. The youngster tucked home the rebound.
Meanwhile, the Manipur club missed a couple of their own chances as they went into the break a goal down.
TRAU FC rally back in the second half to take home their first victory
While resilience from Army Red defined the first half, the persistence from TRAU described the second 45 minutes. The Army Red team seemed happy to be defending their one-goal lead. But the Manipur club continued to rally forward.
Finally, in the 81st minute of the game, TRAU FC were rewarded for their continuous attacking efforts. Boirangdao Bodo latched on to a loose ball outside the opposition box and made a darting run. He entered the box and powered a shot in between the legs of Army keeper Bhabindra Thakuri.
Right after restoring parity, TRAU FC grew desperate to bag the three points and finally in the 89th minute, a poor clearance from the Reds led to their downfall. L Milan latched on to the loose ball and buried it home to seal the tie in the dying moments.
TRAU FC will next square off against Chennaiyin FC in their final group stage game while Army Red face ISL champions Hyderabad FC.
