Pune FC were held to a goalless draw by Dempo SC in an I-League Round-6 encounter at the Balewadi Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking at the post-match Press Conference, Pune FC Head Coach Karim Bencherifa gave his views on the hard fought game.
Discussing about the team’s performance in the game, Coach Bencherifa said, “Considering the fact that our main strikers and the midfield wasn’t fully there and that despite that, we maintained our first clean sheet of the I-League, I think we did very well. We were prepared for the game. Yes we had a few setbacks and it took time to organise ourselves. We lost the services of Edgar Marcelino just before the game after he failed a late fitness test. Add to that Darko Nikac’s injury early on in the game just added to our problems then, but we still managed to play very well.”
He further added, “We trained the whole week with Edgar being a part of the playing eleven and then we had to adjust that last minute. Darko had an ankle injury and we had to reshape our first eleven. So yes, we prepared in a certain set up and till the last minute the game bought forth new developments which forced changes. Nonetheless, the boys showed a lot of quality against a Dempo SC side which has some of the best young talents in the country.”
Talking about the tactics, Coach Bencherifa said, “I think we defended very well. I feel we put pressure on them and created chances here and there. I am happy with the clean sheet. We didn’t change our formation and played the full game with three mid-fielders up front. I am pleased with their performance. The fitness levels were very good. I am happy with the way we executed our plan and took the fight home to them.”
Speaking about Darko’s injury, he added, “I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. But it seems that he twisted his ankle when he rolled over a ball. Even if he is out of action, we have a big squad and have options. We will try as much as possible to shuffle the players considering the quality and the depth we have in our squad.”
