Real Kashmir FC were held to a 1-1 draw by debutants Sudeva Delhi FC at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium in West Bengal on Tuesday.
A wonder strike by Shaiborlang Kharpan from 35 yards was cancelled out by Mason Robertson in the 75th minute, as both the teams shared the spoils of battle in a cagey match where chances were rare.
Real Kashmir had a chance in the 10th minute when Danish Farooq pounced on a loose ball and ran towards the byline to whip in a cross. His delivery missed the Kashmir forwards as well as the opposition goalkeeper as the ball went out of play.
In the 12th minute, a header off a free-kick went wide of the Sudeva goal as Real Kashmir hunted for an early lead.
In the 19th minute, Sudeva had their first shot on target when Shaiborlang Kharpan’s first-time attempt brought out a decent save from the opposition custodian.
The half-time scoreline read 0-0 as both the teams went into the tunnel on level.
In the 62nd minute, Kharpan picked up the ball almost 35 yards out and released an inch-perfect shot which crashed into the right top corner of the net to hand Sudeva the lead.
Real Kashmir, however, did not have to wait long for the equaliser. In the 75th minute, Sena Ralte found Robertson, who had to shoot from a tight angle, but the lanky defender made the most of it and fired his effort between the legs of the opposition custodian to bag a leveller for the Kashmir outfit.
