Durand Cup 2025: Sanan Mohammed's goal gives Jamshedpur FC second consecutive win

Sanan Mohammed's second-half goal gave Jamshedpur FC a 1-0 victory over Indian Army FT, marking their second consecutive win in Group C of the 134th IndianOil Durand Cup. The match was held at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. With this win, Jamshedpur FC topped the group with six points from two matches and advanced closer to the knockout stage. Khalid Jamil, Jamshedpur FC's head coach, made two changes to his starting XI, bringing in Kartik Choudhary and Sourav Das instead of Sarthak Golui and Lalhriatpuia Chawngthu.

Indian Army's head coach, Manish Wahe, fielded an experienced lineup in a 4-3-3 formation, with Rahul Ramakrishnan, Liton Sheel, Shubham Rana, and debutant Sameer Murmu leading the attack. Indian Army dominated the first half, creating more chances. They nearly took a two-goal lead within the first 15 minutes, but Sameer Murmu's shot from a tight angle missed narrowly. Soon after, Samananda Singh's header went wide for a corner. Jamshedpur struggled to counter the physically strong Army team, as Letolen Khongsai and P. Christopher Kamei controlled the midfield. Sameer had another chance when he attempted to beat the goalkeeper on Praful Kumar's weak backpass, but Amrit Gope made a spectacular save. 

The Red Miners tried to penetrate Army’s defense with long passes and throw-ins but met limited success. In injury time of the first half, Army captain B. Sunil's shot was also saved by Amrit Gope with a fingertip save, leaving the score 0-0 at halftime. 

At the start of the second half, Khalid Jamil introduced V.P. Suhair and Nikhil Barla in place of Vincy Barretto and Pronay Halder to add pace to their attack. In the 52nd minute, Jamshedpur took the lead following a move initiated by a long throw. Kartik Choudhary headed the ball back into the danger zone, and Sanan Mohammed controlled it on his chest before finishing brilliantly past the diving goalkeeper, Syed Bin Abdul Qadir. 

Jamshedpur gained better control after scoring, and despite Indian Army's increased possession and effort, their shots posed little threat. The closest chance came when Liton Sheel struck the crossbar with a powerful long-range shot late in the second half. 

The match's final moments grew more intense when Indian Army goalkeeper Syed Bin Abdul Qadir was shown a red card for fouling Jayesh Rane just outside the penalty box as Rane was breaking the offside trap and rushing toward goal. Samananda Singh took over as goalkeeper for the final minutes, with Indian Army pushing to equalize. In the last moments, V.P. Suhair's shot also hit the crossbar, but Jamshedpur FC held on to secure three crucial points.