Kolkata: Kerala Blasters were held to a 1-1 draw by Sudeva FC while defending Champions FC Goa bounced back from their opening day loss to beat Indian Air Force 1-0 in the Durand Cup here on Friday.
Muhammed Nemil was the lone goal scorer for FC Goa at a rainy Kishore Bharati Krirangan. At Guwahati, Kerala Blasters' Mohammed Ajsal's 42nd minute strike was cancelled out by Mangku Kuki, who scored just three minutes later.
Sudeva coach Chencho Dorji made his attacking intentions clear from get go, opting for a four-man midfield and a three-man forward line while the Blasters' gaffer had no such illusions going in with a regulation 4-4-2.
Sudeva dominated possession in the first half and had the larger share of attacks but could not press home the advantage.
It was then that the Blasters struck against the run of play with barely three minutes to go for the first half to end.
Ajsal received the ball in front of the box and drove in, shooting from near the penalty spot area to beat keeper Kabir Kohli and put Sudeva ahead.
The response was immediate. Kuki received the ball on the right from a quickly taken throw-in in the attacking third to gracefully curl it into the top corner to draw parity.
Sudeva continued to dominate possession in the second-half and created more chances but there was a period when both teams sat back and wanted to control possession which might have affected the end result.
The Delhi NCR side threw everyone forward in the final minutes of the game but beyond some set-pieces, nothing fruitful materialized and the stalemate remained for the first draw of the tournament after six games.
With the win, Goa join Mohammedan Sporting and Bengaluru FC with three points in Group A, even though the latter have a game in hand. Jamshedpur FC is the other team in the group. The top two teams from each Group qualify for the quarter-finals.
