Pune FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Bharat FC in the first-ever Pune Derby at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi on Saturday.
Speaking at the post-match Press Conference, Pune FC Coach Karim Bencherifa spoke about the game, the squad and also the road ahead in the I-League.
Giving his views about the game, Coach Bencherifa said, “I think that the game was well contested. We created a lot of chances. If you count the number of shots they had a little advantage but I don’t really know how many shots were on target and how many were easy saves for Amrinder Singh. I wouldn’t say we out of the game. Yes, there were times when they put pressure on us. There were moments however for each team and we slowly began to come back into the game. We had more width later on in the game. The introduction of Nikhil was another plus for us. Unfortunately I was forced into the first substitution because of Edgar Marcelino’s injury. Also we were struggling with Mathew who was on a yellow card already. I think after the red card to Mehrajuddin Wadoo the game was in our hands but then we couldn’t finish the chances. I think it is a fair result. I am not disappointed.”
Speaking about the fast start to the game, Coach Bencherifa said, “We had a good start. We identified their weakness early on. They were playing three defenders behind and that was an issue. I think the goal came from Puia’s run from that area only. But all said and done, I feel the game had a fair result. And the whole game was all about moments. Sometimes it was with them sometimes with us. On the whole I think it was ok.”
He further added, “Of course there is a big difference between the reality and your dream. The dream is the three points and move up the table, but the reality at times is otherwise. I cannot ask more from the players. I knew that and I said it in the pre-match conference. Some of the players who went for the national camp suffered from lack of match fitness. There were injury issues with Darko Nikac and Ryuji Sueoka too. The players were 70 per cent fit. There has not been even one game where I have been able to play the ideal line-up. But we played to the best of our abilities and played to win also. If feel when we get these players back into match fitness we can come back well.”
