Guwahati, Aug. 6 -- Bodoland FC bounced back from their opening match defeat to NorthEast United with a commanding 3-0 win over FC1 in a Group F fixture of the 135th Durand Cup played here at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Thursday.

Before a ball was kicked, there was a small gesture worth pausing on. At the coin toss, FC1 captain Ikhlaq Fayaz presented his Bodoland counterpart, Halicharan Narzary, with a sapling -- a fittingly understated nod to the water-conservation and climate-awareness campaign that has quietly shaped FC1's Durand Cup debut, the same ethos stitched into the wave patterns of their new jersey.

It was a nice moment, and rather a lonelier one by full time, Fayaz having spent the following ninety minutes fending ...