Former India international and local hero Halicharan Narzary produced a sensational individual display as Bodoland FC demolished Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC 6-0 in their final Group F match of the 135th IndianOil Durand Cup at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Thursday.
Narzary scored four goals and assisted the other two as Bodoland ended their group campaign with a commanding victory. Despite collecting six points from three matches, however, Bodoland FC failed to secure a place in the quarter-finals after East Bengal FC and Jamshedpur FC finished with the same number of points but superior goal differences.
Karbi Anglong, meanwhile, endured another difficult Durand Cup campaign and finished without a single point for the second successive season.
Bodoland made their attacking intentions clear early on, while Karbi Anglong goalkeeper A. Muhammed Murshid was called into action after bringing down Sidhharth Khichi inside the penalty area. Narzary stepped up and confidently converted the resulting spot-kick to put Bodoland ahead.
The former India star continued to influence proceedings from the left flank and nearly created another goal when his precise delivery found Robinson Rendon, whose first-time volley was brilliantly saved.
Karbi Anglong were then awarded a penalty at the other end after Shubham Sarangi fouled Joseph Olaleye. Junior Onguene Nkengue’s spot-kick was saved by Birkhang Daimary, who also reacted quickly to deny Paogoumang Singson’s follow-up.
Narzary doubled Bodoland’s advantage shortly before the hydration break. After receiving a perfectly timed pass from Rendon, he broke through the defensive line, cut inside and curled a low effort into the bottom corner.
Birkhang Daimary kept Bodoland in control with several important saves before the interval, denying Taison Singh, Olaleye and Manglienboi Neihsial.
Bodoland added a third six minutes into the second half. Kaushik Daimari collected the ball between two defenders, turned away from the challenges and fired a left-footed effort beyond the advancing goalkeeper.
Narzary completed his hat-trick six minutes from full-time, meeting Kaushik’s accurate cross at the far post before lifting the ball over Murshid.
The Bodoland captain then turned provider. His low cross found substitute Gwgwmsar Gayary, who calmly converted from close range to make it 5-0.
There was still time for Narzary to complete his remarkable four-goal performance. Breaking through once again, the forward kept his composure to finish past the goalkeeper and seal a memorable 6-0 triumph.
Narzary thus played a direct role in all six Bodoland goals, but his extraordinary performance could not prevent the team from missing out on the knockout stages.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
