I-League 2024-25: Real Kashmir continues to shine at home with 2-1 win over Delhi FC; Churchill notches first win

Real Kashmir FC continued to shine at home by picking up its second win in three matches, beating Delhi FC 2-1 in an I-League match here on Wednesday.

Bouba Aminou (72nd minute) and Lalramdinsanga Ralte (84th) scored for the ‘Snow Leopards’ while Stephane Samir Binong (89th) pulled one back for the Delhi side at the TRC Football Turf ground.

Ishfaq Ahmed-coached Real Kashmir, which has so far played all its matches at home, has seven points from three matches, while Delhi FC suffered its second consecutive defeat to remain with just one point that it earned from the drawn match against Namdhari FC.

Off-the-ball incidents generated more excitement in the first half than the actual game. Delhi FC goalkeeper Debnath Mondal was the centre of attention, though for the wrong reasons.

On one occasion, the lanky goalkeeper left his charge and reached the opposite area to argue with the referee on a free-kick decision only to return to his position with a yellow card.

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The next time, Mondal dangerously left his area in an attempt to foil a rival striker. He got beaten, and only a goal-line clearance by a defender saved the moment for the visiting side.

Mondal, however, also had his skills in place when he negotiated well with a couple of long rangers.

The 27-year-old finally ran out of luck in the 72nd minute when Cameroonian Bouba Aminou headed home from close.

The second goal came in the 84th minute. This time, Delhi FC’s defence was caught napping when a through pass found Lalramdinsanga Ralte in the open and he beat the Delhi goalkeeper.

Some excitement was injected into the game when substitute Cameroonian Binong pulled one back for Delhi.

However, instead of a Delhi FC revival, it was Real Kashmir FC, which earned a penalty during the eight-minute add-on time. But, Senegalese recruit Abdou Karim Samb missed the spot kick.

In another match of the day played in Bengaluru, Churchill Brothers notched its first win of the season, a 3-1 victory against SC Bengaluru.

With the win, the Red Machines moved to four points from three matches.

SC Bengaluru remained at the bottom, having lost all its games thus far. It is the only team yet to log a point in the season so far.

Spaniard Jordan Lamela (12th minute) gave the newly-promoted SC Bengaluru some hope early on, giving them the lead. However, Churchill Brothers was quick to bounce back in the game.

Colombian Sebastian Gutierrez (25th) equalised in the first half itself, before Senegalese midfielder Pape Alassane Gassama (38th) converted a penalty minutes before the half-time whistle.

Wayde Lekay (81st) scored his third goal in as many matches, in the closing stages, to put the match beyond any doubt.