Durand Cup final: NorthEast United FC are crowned champions; beat Diamond Harbour FC 6-1 to successfully defend title
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Durand Cup final: NorthEast United FC are crowned champions; beat Diamond Harbour FC 6-1 to successfully defend title")
NorthEast United FC players celebrate after scoring goal Photograph: (X (@NEUtdFC))
For NorthEast United FC, Asheer Akhtar, Parthib Gogoi, Thoi Singh, Jairo Bustara, Mayakkannan Gaitan and Ajaraie were the goal scorers. Two goals came in the first half of the game for NEUFC, while Mikel Kortazar was the lone goal scorer for DHFC
It was a five-star performance. Defending champions NorthEast United FC beat Diamond Harbour FC 6-1 to successfully defend their Durand Cup title on Saturday (August 23). The final match was being played at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan stadium in West Bengal. For NorthEast United FC (NEUFC), Asheer Akhtar (30'),Parthib Gogoi (45+1'), Thoi Singh (50'), Jairo Bustara (81'), Mayakkannan Gaitan (86') and Ajaraie (90+4') found the back of the net. Two goals came in the first half of the game for NEUFC, while Mikel Kortazar (68') was the lone goal scorer for Diamond Harbour FC (DHFC).
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NEUFC defends their Durand Cup title
Durand Cup is also Asia's oldest football tournament and this year it was the 134th edition of the tournament. The NEUFC club is owned by renowned Bollywood actor John Abraham. NEUFC, also known as ‘The Highlanders’ had beaten Mohun Bagan Super Giant in 2024 by a score of 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out after the match ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Coming to the match, both the teams showed aggressive approach right from the get go. DHFC got a freekick in the 21st minute of the game but the team could not capitalise on the opportunity. At the half-hour mark, Asheer Akhtar gave NEUFC lead. Just before the referee was about to blow the whistle to signal the end of the first half, Parthib Gogoi scored a sublime goal to extend NEUFC's lead. Going into the half-time, NEUFC led DHFC by 2-0.
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A stellar performance by The Highlanders
At the beginning of the second half, NEUFC played with the same momentum and tried to keep DHFC at bay. Just five minutes into the second half, Thoi Singh added third goal to take the game away from DHFC. DHFC continued to find ways to find the back of the net but were unable to. However, Mikel Kortazar (68') pulled one back for the Diamond Harbour FC. In the last ten minutes of the game, Jairo Bustara and Mayakkannan Gaitan added two more goals. In the last minute of the game, NEUFC were awarded penalty which was easily converted by Ajaraie.
