Pune FC Under-17s went down 7-8 in sudden death to Aryans FC ‘A’ and exited the 20th Late Kishorilal Pardeshi Tournament in the first round at the PDFA Ground in Dobarwadi on Monday.
In a game that Pune FC completely dominated, it was the failure to convert the numerous chances which ultimately proved costly for the Under-17s as they suffered shootout heartbreak after the game ended goalless.
The 20-minute per half game began with Pune FC dominating proceedings right from the word go. As the half progressed, Pune FC created clear chances through Bunthunglal Samte and Lungunlal Haokip, but the duo were guilty of missing sitters from close range. The first ended goalless with the opponents down to ten men after receiving a red card midway through the half.
The second half was a similar story as Pune FC kept pushing up looking to make their one man advantage count. However, once again, despite creating several chances, they failed to find the back of the net as the rivals defended deep in numbers.
With both sides failing to score in normal time, the game headed into the penalty shootout. Both sides converted four of the first five kicks with Lalawmpuia, Sahil Panwar, Asish Rai and Joel Lalremruata scoring for Pune FC while Bunthunglal missed. In the sudden death Yogesh Bagul and Cladeo Nongpluh scored while Lungunlal Haokip’s miss proved costly as Aryans FC converted the deciding spot kick to the take the win.
