At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, Bekey Oram gave NEUFC an early lead from the penalty spot, but Rangdajied United refused to be overawed. Manbhakupar Iawphniaw levelled the scores midway through the first half, capitalising on a defensive lapse, before Danzel Umdor fired the hosts ahead just before the break.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Highlanders, however, responded with composure in the second half. A flowing move was finished clinically by Jairo, whose strike ensured the defending champions preserved their unbeaten record going into the quarterfinals. Rangdajied, despite the spirited display and their first point of the tournament, bowed out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier in Jamshedpur, Indian Army staged one of the comebacks of the competition at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Trailing 0\u20132 to 1 Ladakh FC, the Army outfit roared back with four unanswered goals. Sama\u2019s towering header and Abhishek\u2019s opportunistic finish drew them level before the break. In the second half, Christopher Kamei\u2019s penalty and Rahul Ramakrishnan\u2019s close-range header sealed a 4\u20132 win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Highlanders, however, responded with composure in the second half. A flowing move was finished clinically by Jairo, whose strike ensured the defending champions preserved their unbeaten record going into the quarterfinals. Rangdajied, despite the spirited display and their first point of the tournament, bowed out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The day\u2019s results saw NorthEast United march into the knockouts unbeaten, while Rangdajied and Indian Army departed the competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n