SC Delhi staged a stunning second-half comeback to dismantle debutants FC Raengdai 5-1 in the first quarter-final of the 135th IndianOil Durand Cup at the Birsa Munda Football Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday, 16 August. Trailing at the break, Delhi turned the tie on its head through substitute Joseph Sunny's brace and further strikes from Rodriguinho, Juan Sebastian Peña, and Augustine Lalrochana to advance to the semi-finals.

First Half: Raengdai Strike First

FC Raengdai controlled the opening exchanges, pressing high and moving the ball patiently. SC Delhi threatened on the counter in the 7th minute when captain Lamgoulen Semkholun delivered a sharp cross from the right, with Peña heading just over the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Chongtham Kishan Singh produced one of the strikes of the tournament — a bullet from around 20 metres that dipped late, hit the inside of the crossbar, and bounced into the net, leaving goalkeeper Nora Fernandes helpless. Raengdai's defensive unit, anchored by Rojen Meetei, Lanchungrei Pamei, and Amitkumar Singh, held firm through a flurry of Delhi pressure, including a 33rd-minute header from Semkholun that was cleared off the line by Meetei. The half ended 1-0 to the debutants.

Sunny Turns the Tide

SC Delhi emerged with far greater intent after the restart. The introduction of substitute Joseph Sunny proved the turning point. In the 57th minute, Peña played a clever release for Sunny, who collected on the edge of the box and fired a precise low finish into the bottom-left corner to level the contest.

Ten minutes later, Peña unlocked the Raengdai defence again with a sublime no-look pass, sending Sunny through one-on-one with goalkeeper Kamei Pantiga. The substitute finished calmly to complete the turnaround and put Delhi ahead for the first time.

Delhi Pull Clear in the Final Stages

In the 82nd minute, Rodriguinho showed composure to beat two defenders before slotting a left-footed finish past Pantiga to make it 3-1. The floodgates then opened in stoppage time. Peña capped a superb individual dribble with a no-look finish in the third minute of added time to make it 4-1, before substitute Augustine Lalrochana drove from the left and finished stylishly into the far corner in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal a 5-1 victory.

Despite the scoreline, Kamei Pantiga — who also captained Raengdai — was outstanding in goal, producing multiple top-class saves to keep his side in contention for much of the second half. Midul Doley was lively throughout for the debutants, making several dangerous runs into the final third.

What's Next

SC Delhi advance to the semi-finals of the 135th IndianOil Durand Cup, where they will face the winner of the second quarter-final between Indian Army Football Team and East Bengal FC. That semi-final is scheduled for 19 August at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. For FC Raengdai, their impressive debut campaign in the Durand Cup ends at the last-eight stage — a creditable run for a team making their first appearance in the competition.