Indian Army Football Team signed off their Durand Cup 2025 season in thrilling fashion with a riveting 4-2 win against Ladakh FC. It was a proper roller-coaster ride of a football game that went down to the wire but unfortunately for Indian Army, the victory wasn't enough for them to qualify for the knockouts. However, it was a sensational win nevertheless, as they were 0-2 down at one stage, but held their nerve to hammer four goals past Ladakh FC who weren't able to deal with the crunch moments properly.
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From the start of the game, it was evident that this would be an open game as both sides created chances in the initial quarter of the game. However, neither capitalised and it took a penalty from P Kamalesh to put Ladakh in front in the 23rd minute. It was a horrendous foul from Indian Army goalkeeper Sayad Kadir, an obvious foul that had nothing but penalty written all over it. Kamalesh duly converted the spot-kick and 14 minutes later, Vignesh's sensational creativity and shooting prowess doubled Ladakh's lead in the 37th minute. At 0-2 down, Indian Army seemed down for the count, given that they had to win this game by a really big margin to progress to the knockouts.
Indian Army skipper Sarna brought them back into the game through a vicious header in the 41st minute and just four minutes later, the scores were level 2-2, courtesy a scrappy goal from Abhishek after players from both sides were unable to initially gain control in Ladakh's penalty area. It was the ideal finish for Indian Army heading into the break and in the second half, they grew stronger into the contest. Their pressing intensity increased and it put pressure on Ladakh FC players who couldn't negotiate the challenge efficiently.
Just like the first half, the second half also saw a penalty as the first goal, this time for Indian Army and Christopher dispatched it with calm to put Indian Army ahead. Four minutes later, Rahul's powerful header made it 4-2 with Indian Army breathing fire in the contest. They were relentless and ruthless, giving the rookie Ladakh FC side no chance. There were chances for more goals but Indian Army weren't able to capitalise on them. However, they ended their campaign with a memorable victory.