Indian Navy edged past a more fancied Real Kashmir FC 2-1 in a closely contested Group F encounter of the Durand Cup, here on Friday.
Goals from Vijay Marandi (6th min) and Sreyas V G (70th min) ensured full points for the Sailors, while Franck William Sessegnon's 64th-minute strike proved to be a consolation for the Snow Leopards.
The Sailors struck early in the sixth minute when Roshan Panna made a slick run down the right and delivered a low cross into the box.
Marandi timed his run well and tapped it in with his knee, handing Navy the lead amid loud cheers from the local crowd.
The first half saw some end-to-end action, but the score remained 1-0 in Navy's favour going into the break. Ahteeb, who looked lively, was denied twice, once by a tight angle save from Bhaskar and another by misfiring just before the half-time whistle.
Real Kashmir resumed the second half with high-press strategy.
Their persistence paid off in the 64th minute when Sessegnon levelled the score. The Ivory Coast player made a sharp run behind Navy’s backline to latch onto a sublime long ball from Seila Toure and finished confidently past Bhaskar Roy.
But the Sailors were quick to regain their lead. Just six minutes later, in the 70th minute, Panna once again turned provider.
His low diagonal pass found Sreyas V G inside the right edge of the box, who finished with precision from his right foot to restore Navy’s advantage at 2-1. In the end, the Indian Navy walked away with all three points and climbed to the top of Group F.
