Taking a much-needed water break after 35 minutes of resultless play, a struggling Mohd. Rafi had little clue that he would, in fact, be the pivot for Mahindra United’s 3-0 victory over Army XI in their Durand Cup quarter-final league match at the Ambedkar Stadium.

Three minutes later, he broke the deadlock by heading home a corner kick from Nigerian Edeh Chidi. The Mumbai club doubled their lead after another three minutes as Edeh made his way past Army XI’s final line of defence to wrap the ball into the top corner. Mahindras’ third goal came from the spot after Rafi was brought down inside the box five minutes into the second half, Douhous Pierre of Ivory Coast blasting the ball into the left corner of the net even as the Army goalkeeper went to the other end.

And the fact that foreign players were part of all three strikes was no coincidence. It was clear that Army had no clue how to tackle the visibly superior Africans in the Mahindras’s ranks.

The second match of the day saw defending champions Churchill Brothers pitted against Mumbai FC. The Goans, led by Nigeria’s Odafa Onyeka, however, didn’t leave much room for competition by taking a 2-0 lead in the first half itself, both goals coming off the skipper. Churchill stretched their lead through Savio Monteiro while Mumbai FC managed a consolation goal.