Durand Cup: Hnamte's double leads SC Delhi to 2-1 win vs Jamshedpur

Debutant Lalrinliana Hnamte scored twice as SC Delhi staged a second-half comeback to beat Jamshedpur FC 2-1 in a rain-affected Durand Cup match. The win marks a significant step for the young, rebranded club under coach Tomasz Pawel Tchorz.

The skies over the Birsa Munda Football Stadium had other plans. Thunderstorms rolled in ahead of kick-off, delaying the start and turning the pitch into a slick, unpredictable surface. By half-time, SC Delhi were behind, outworked in patches and staring at a result that would have handed Jamshedpur FC the early initiative in Group C of the 135th Durand Cup.

Twice in that span, debutant Lalrinliana Hnamte found the net, turning a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 win and, more importantly for a club still finding its identity, into a statement about what this SC Delhi side is trying to build.

Jamshedpur had made the early running. Sanan Mohammed, restless down the flank, had given the home crowd plenty to cheer, setting up the 22nd-minute opener that put the Red Miners in front.

Hnamte Completes Second-Half Turnaround

The rain kept falling. The ball kept skidding awkwardly off wet turf. For a young SC Delhi side missing the rhythm of a settled season, it would have been easy to fold.

Instead, the second half turned into a different match altogether. In the 51st minute, Hnamte guided home a composed first-time finish. Five minutes later, with the Jamshedpur goalkeeper unable to hold onto a save on the slick surface, Hnamte pounced on the rebound to complete his brace -- and complete the turnaround. It was, quite literally, the first time he had worn the SC Delhi jersey in a competitive fixture.

A Platform for Young Players

Speaking after the match, head coach Tomasz Pawel Tchorz did not dwell only on the scoreline. For him, the larger story was what the Durand Cup represents for a club still in its early chapters. "We are very grateful to be part of this tournament because it is an excellent platform for young players," Tchorz said. "For a club like ours, which is committed to developing young Indian footballers, the Durand Cup gives them invaluable competitive matches and the chance to grow through experience."

There is context worth sitting with here. SC Delhi's current shape is barely months old. The club began life in 2019 as Hyderabad FC, and it was only ahead of the 2025-26 Indian Super League season that it was rebranded and relocated to the capital under the ownership of the B.C. Jindal Group, taking on a new crest, a new city and a fitting nickname -- The Phoenix.

The Rise of 'The Phoenix'

Rebirths are rarely smooth. SC Delhi's first match under its new identity ended in defeat to Bengaluru FC. Weeks later, though, something clicked: down 2-0 against Mumbai City FC, the side clawed back to secure a 2-2 draw and its first-ever point under the new banner. That pattern -- falling behind, refusing to fold, finding a way back -- has quietly become something of a signature. Ranchi was that story again, this time with three points attached.

For Tchorz, a coach who has spent much of his career embedded in youth development rather than chasing trophies at the top level, the value of a result like this runs deeper than the table. "Nothing motivates a young player more than winning," he explained. "We have a lot of talented youngsters in our squad and results like these help them believe in themselves. From a developmental perspective, this is a very important win for us."

A Youth-First Philosophy

That philosophy is not new to him. Long before he took charge of SC Delhi in October 2025, the Polish coach -- a UEFA Pro Licence holder with a background as an assistant under Kibu Vicuna at Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters -- spent years inside Kerala Blasters' youth structure, a stint credited with shaping players who have since gone on to senior football in India. Building from the ground up, rather than around marquee names, appears to be the template he has carried with him to Delhi.

Ranchi also produced two first-team debuts away from the headline act. Young players Kaif and Diamond both stepped onto a Durand Cup pitch for the first time, and for Tchorz, their inclusion mattered as much as the result itself. He singled out Kaif's route to the moment as an example worth repeating. "He recognised that he needed regular game time, went on loan to South United FC, played consistently, came back stronger and has now earned his place in our first team," Tchorz said. "It is a great example of the pathway young Indian footballers should follow."

It is a small story, easy to miss inside a match report dominated by a two-goal debutant. But it captures something the Durand Cup has quietly enabled for well over a century -- a stage where fringe players can force their way into first-team conversations through performances that matter.

The Legacy of the Durand Cup

The Durand Cup carries weight that few competitions in world football can claim. First played in 1888 in Shimla, it is Asia's oldest football tournament and the third-oldest in the world, predating almost every domestic competition the modern game recognises. What began as a contest among British Indian Army regiments eventually opened its doors to civilian clubs, with Mohun Bagan becoming the first Indian side to compete in 1925. Over 135 editions, it has survived a world war, relocation from Shimla to Delhi, and -- in recent years -- an expansion into a multi-city format spanning West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Manipur.

Tchorz, now on his third appearance in the tournament, framed its current value in fairly direct terms. "The Durand Cup is a prestigious tournament, just like the Indian Super League, and it also serves as an excellent pre-season competition," he said. "The pressure of competitive football helps players develop mentally and tactically, while the group-stage format allows coaches to give meaningful opportunities to young players."

That structure -- a round-robin group stage before knockouts -- is precisely what allows a coach like Tchorz to rotate his line-up and hand out debuts without the win-at-all-costs pressure of a straight knockout draw. Against Jamshedpur, he retained eight players from SC Delhi's final ISL fixture of last season while also blooding new faces, a balance the format is built to accommodate.

A Warm Welcome in Ranchi

This was Tchorz's first visit to Ranchi, and by his own account, the city made a mark that extended beyond the result. "This is my third Durand Cup, and I have only positive things to say," he said. "The organisation has been excellent, the facilities are outstanding and today we experienced a fantastic crowd. I had never visited Ranchi before, but the people have been incredibly welcoming and it is clear they have a genuine passion for football."

That passion showed up in numbers. Despite rain delaying kick-off, supporters filled the Birsa Munda Stadium, backing a Jamshedpur side chasing its second win of the group stage. It is exactly the kind of setting the Durand Cup has increasingly sought out in recent years -- taking marquee football beyond the country's usual metropolitan strongholds and into cities building their own footballing culture from scratch.

Belief and Attitude: The Key to Victory

If there was one thread Tchorz kept returning to, it was attitude -- the quality that turned a losing half-time scoreline into a winning full-time one. "It's all about attitude," he said. "We were 1-0 down at half-time, but the players stayed calm, believed in themselves and came back determined to change the game. Experiences like these are invaluable because they help young footballers grow -- not just as players, but mentally as well."

SC Delhi will carry that belief into the rest of their Group C campaign, still level on goal difference with a Jamshedpur side that remains top of the table despite the defeat. But for a club barely a season into its new identity, built around a coach who talks more readily about pathways than trophies, Ranchi offered something more durable than three points. It offered proof of concept that when the pressure builds, and the scoreline turns unkind, this young SC Delhi side already knows how to respond. In a tournament that has spent 135 editions rewarding exactly that kind of character, it is hard to imagine a more fitting place to learn the lesson.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)