Pune FC logged their first win in four games with a 1-0 victory over Royal Wahingdoh FC at the Balewadi Stadium on Saturday.
The result achieved on a rain soaked evening also put Pune FC back on the top of the table with 15 points from eight games. Speaking at the post-match Press Conference, Head Coach Karim Bencherifa lauded his team’s efforts and spoke about the road ahead.
Discussing the game, Coach Bencherifa said, “It is a massive win. Considering the conditions and how difficult it was for the team to play on the ground during the rains, it was a brilliant win for us. If you look at the pressure that was on the players for not winning three games on the trot, this was an important result. In fact there was more pressure on us after the results of the other teams. We were missing three of our main players and yet we won. We fielded a quality side and the results were there for everyone to see. Royal Wahingdoh was a very good side, so it was a good team to beat. I never doubted their abilities and they reposed the faith I have had in them.”
Speaking about the second half, he added, “I think we continued to keep the pressure (in the second half). Yes they had a couple of chances where we did get lucky, but we were never struggling against them despite the difficult conditions in which we were playing. We defended well and we attacked well. The bottom line is game is over. We won three points, clean sheet and also went to the top of the table. That is about it.”
Talking about the importance of the result ahead of a short international break, Coach Bencherifa said, “It always has been important to win. The only way we can go about staying on top consistently is by winning. Yes the results of the other games did play an important role, but that was in motivating the players. It was important to go into the game with the right attitude towards winning and we did go for the win and we got it too.”
