Assam Rifles on the other hand made the most of their opportunities. They were helped significantly by United goalkeeper Raj Kumar, who had a horror day on the field. Consistently wrong footed, his panic was palpable every time he had to clear a high ball while under pressure from the opposition. Eventually Assam Rifles took the lead through a strike by Devender in the 16th minute. They would add another through Meikingai Kamei just before the stroke of half time.
Delhi United though weren't state champions for no reason. Almost immediately after the break the reduced the margin through Saurav Patra who seized his opportunity after a goalmouth melee. Deepak Mehra scored the equaliser in the 69th and it appeared that a turnaround was on the cards. However despite playing almost the remainder of the match in the Assam Rifles half, no goal came.
Instead, against the run of play, it was the Army side that took the lead. Once again it was United's defence and particularly custodian Kumar who was in error. Captain Rishi Kapoor gave away a loose ball and with plenty of space it was Haokip who put his name on the scorers list in the 86th minute. Desperate to find their own equaliser United committed almost all their players up front. With such a field there was no margin for error, and when Kapoor once again failed to clear a ball in the 89th minute he allowed Ajit Kumar Singh to deliver the coup de grace. Assam Rifles next play I-league club Sporting Clube de Goa in the third round.
BSF triumph
Seven times champions Border Security Force (BSF) also entered the third round of the Durand qualifying tournament. They overcame spirited Bhawanipur FC of Kolkata 5-3 in the penalty shoot out after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. BSF will now meet Tata Football Academy (TFA) in their third round tie on Friday September 30.