Pune FC continued their unbeaten run in the preseason with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in their third friendly at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa, Goa.
Substitute Velington Rocha put Pune FC ahead in the 54th minute before Ento (69th) pulled Sporting level fifteen minutes later. However, substitute Jassel’s (88th) goal late in the third period sealed Pune FC’s second win in a row.
With the game being played in three periods of 30 minutes each, Coach Karim Bencherifa opted for a similar strategy used against Dempo SC two days back and utilised a total of 20 players throughout the game.
After an equally fought opening quarter, Pune FC first went close in the 22nd minute. Lalnunpuia intercepted a pass and sent striker Shoaib Syed through. However, Shoaib’s first touch let him down in a one-on-one situation with the ‘keeper.
Pune FC kept on pushing ahead patiently and had defender Zohmingliana Ralte go inches over the framework on a corner kick as the first period came to a close.
The second period saw Sporting defend deep trying to hit Pune FC on a counter. However, despite getting close, they failed to get past custodian Arup Debnath.
Pune FC’s persistence paid off as they finally took the lead in the 54th minute. As a long ball split the Sporting defense, Rocha capitalised from the defenders’ lapse to find space behind them. Once clear, he slotted home from close.
Moments later Pune FC went close again twice. Shoaib and Tanmoy saw their efforts go wide, which also brought to an end the second period.
The final period saw Sporting push up further in the search of an equaliser. Six minutes in, Velito came close for the hosts, but substitute keeper Avilash Paul pulled off an equally good save to keep Pune FC’s lead safe.
Nevertheless, Sporting pulled level three minutes after Ento’s powerful strike from 30-tards out had Avilash beaten despite getting a hand to it.
At the other end, Pune FC kept on attacking the rival goal. Ten minutes from time, Rocha dribbled past three defenders to create space, but his try from range went wide.
However, Pune FC finally got the winner two minutes from time. Substitute Jassel’s attempted cross from left wing had enough sting and accuracy to deceive ‘keeper and find top-corner of net to settle the tie.
The Team
Pune FC: Arup (GK) (61’; Avilash), Mathew (49’; Anas), Ralte, Henry (75’; Subhasish), Raju (61’; Srikanth), Alex, Arata (31’; Tanmoy) (61’; Jassel), Lalnunpuia (61’; Prakash), Lalrempuia (31’; Mumtaz), Anthony (31’; Rocha), Shoaib
Sporting Goa: Sukhdev, Ganesh, Jarmanjeet, Chinta, Harpreet, Steven, Royston, Jay Prakash, Soumik, Passi, Joe
