Diamond Harbour leads the Indian Football League 2025-26 standings with 19 points from eight games. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

A quickfire second-half brace within two minutes by Halicharan Narzary secured Diamond Harbour FC a 3-1 victory against Chanmari FC in their IFL 2025-26 clash at the Kalyani Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday.

The result ensured Diamond Harbour extended its unbeaten run to seven matches and established a five-point gap at the top of the standings. Chanmari, despite taking an early lead, was unable to hold on.

The match began with Diamond Harbour asserting dominance from the opening whistle. The host created numerous opportunities but was denied by the woodwork and some resolute defending by Chanmari.

Luka Majcen saw his attempt go just above the crossbar, while Robilal Mandi struck the crossbar within the opening seven minutes. A few moments later, Joby Justin saw his header cleared off the goal line by the defender.

Despite registering 13 shots and creating eight chances in the first half, the host could not open the scoring. Chanmari struggled to retain the ball but survived the onslaught to enter the interval goalless.

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The visitor took a shock lead against the run of play in the 48th minute. Following clever footwork from Jota to win a free-kick, the ball was laid off to Marlon, who unleashed a powerful low shot past a diving Dheeraj to make it 1-0.

The host equalised in the 73rd minute when a cross from Halicharan forced an error from Marlon, who turned the ball into his own net to level the score.

Diamond Harbour intensified its pressure, seeing an Antony Moyano free-kick tipped over by the goalkeeper and a header cleared off the line by Jota.

The advantage was finally seized in the 81st minute when Halicharan intercepted a misplaced pass from Papuia to score from a swift counter-attack despite a deflection from Lalruatdika.

Two minutes later, Halicharan struck again, calmly slotting it past the diving goalkeeper to extend the lead. The assist by Tharpuia was brilliant and another clinical finish by the Asamese gave Diamond Harbour a two goal cushion inside two minutes.

Earlier in the day, Dempo SC got the better of Aizawl FC by a 3-0 margin through second-half goals from Marcus Joseph, Jose Luis Moreno, and substitute Sebastián Gutiérrez to secure its second consecutive victory.

Dempo moved ahead of its opponent to fifth in the table with nine points from nine matches, while Aizawl dropped to sixth in the table with the same number of points.

Published on Apr 11, 2026