Indian Air Force made it to the main draw of the 120th Osian Durand Cup football tournament after a 2-1 victory over Amity United FC at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on Saturday.
Kalyan Pal put the airmen ahead in the 64th minute while Lalramzuava doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 73rd.
Tushar Chaudhary pulled one back for Amity in the 84th minute but it was not enough to stop IAF from getting to the main draw of the tournament after a long time.
Air Force now have the daunting prospect of facing national league champions Dempo Sports Club in the pre-quarter-finals on November 1.
The match witnessed a lot of energetic running but neither team was able to control the midfield. As a result goalmouth chances were few and far between.
Amity schoolchildren were present in the stands to cheer their team but the support could not get them the desired success.
Air Force went close in the 12th minute, when a cross from the right was met by TTS Stephen, whose bullet-like shot was thwarted in a last-ditch effort by Deepak Kumar Singh.
However, there was not much penetration in the IAF attack and coach Raghubir Singh substituted L B Victor for Manish Negi well before half-time.
The move almost paid immediate dividends but Negi fired over the bar when he only had Amity custodian Chinmoy Banerjee to beat.
IAF were denied by the woodwork soon after the restart when a strong shot by Prashant Singh came off the bar.
But they got the deserved lead soon when a cross from Stephen was expertly headed in by Kalyan Pal with the custodian rooted to the spot.
The setback provoked Amity to launch several raids on the rival goal and they came desperately close when a cross from Samanta was headed just wide by Sandip Chakraborty with IAF keeper Aurobindo Bandopadhyay well beaten.
Coach Raghubir then sent Lalramzuava in place of Ravinder Thapliyal and the move proved to be the clincher.
The substitute freed Pal on the left flank and the forward beat Sandeep Malik inside the box. The Amity player then brought him down and referee Deepak Singh had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot.
Lalramzuava displayed composure as he chipped the ball in the centre of the net with Chinmoy committed to one side.
The airmen were now showing superior fitness but conceded a late goal due to a goalkeeping error, which gave hope to the Amity team.
A corner by Sandip Chakraborty was dropped by the custodian and the resultant shot by Tushar Chaudhary was deflected in by Sanjay Thapa.
The unexpected goal gave heart to the Amity boys and they pushed forward in big numbers but IAF formed a solid defensive wall at the edge of their penalty area and gave their rivals no joy.
The qualification stage comes to an end on Sunday with a local derby, Osian's New Delhi Heroes taking on Sail City Football Club to decide the final spot in the main draw.
The winners will play Air India in the last 16 on November 1.
