Pune FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Mumbai FC in the season’s second Maha-Derby at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai on Sunday.
Coach Karim Bencherifa was happy with his team’s performance and discussed various things about the game at the post-match Press Conference.
Speaking about the game, Coach Bencherifa said, “I would like to give credit to Mumbai FC, they defended very well. The boys worked really hard even our players too worked their socks off. But I’m okay with a point. They defended very deep in the whole game. Apart from a few chances and sets pieces throughout the game it was entirely dominated by Pune FC. To be honest we tried everything. We tried to shoot from outside the box, we tried to put bodies into the box, but we fell short of finding the second goal.”
He further added, “There were few things that didn’t go our way. Losing Darko Nikac early on meant we were short of experience as for Shoaib it was only his second substitute appearance this season in the I-League. But overall I am happy with my team and the players’ performance.”
When asked about the team missing a host of players, Coach Bencherifa explained, “We missed a number of players due to injuries and the national team camp. All of them have been regulars in our team this season. But I don’t like to use that as an excuse because despite the situation we played a good game. This only goes to show the depth in our squad and the fact that every player is prepared in the same way.”
Speaking about Darko’s injury, he said, “Apparently he twisted the same ankle which was injured in Pune against Dempo SC and we will have to assess his situation.”
