I-League: Ten-man Pune FC down Dempo SC 2-1; move up to third

In a high octane clash, striker Darko Nikac (9th minute) put Pune FC in the lead before Lalrempuia Fanai doubled the advantage in the 67th minute. Substitute Tolgay Ozbey pulled one back for the hosts in the 69th minute but the goal proved to be only a consolation.

The game also saw two red cards with Dempo’s Prabir Das (26th minute) and Pune FC’s Dhanpal Ganesh (72nd) sent off in either half.

Meanwhile, the three points earned took Pune FC’s tally to 23 points as they moved up to the third place in the table. On the other hand, Dempo (13 pts) dropped down to 8th place in the standings.

Going into the game, Pune FC Coach Karim Bencherifa made four changes handing starts to Srikanth Ramu, Munmun Lugun, Dhanpal Ganesh and Prakash Thorat.

After a few half chances at either end, Pune FC broke the deadlock in the 9th minute. On a breakaway move, Arata Izumi found Prakash clear on the left flank who in turn played Munmun clear down the wing. The left-back curled in a low cross at the first post to Ryuji Sueoka who failed to get a good touch. However, Darko following up in the box fired home the stray ball from close range to put Pune FC in the lead.

Thereafter, both sides pushed up with a few attacks in the rival third. While, Pune FC opted to build through quick passes in the midfield, Dempo went for the long balls but either side couldn’t penetrate the defensive line and stayed stuck in the midfield.

The hosts went close in the 26th minute when Carlos Hernandes let fly from distance. The Costa-Rican’s swerving shot was palmed away by a great diving save from keeper Amrinder Singh.

A minute later, the hosts went down to ten-men when defender Prabir Das was sent off by referee Ranjit Bakshi for dissent in the 27th minute.

Ten minutes later, Pune FC once again went close through play maker Sueoka. This time after a series of more than fifty passes in the midfield, a long ball from the Amrinder was flicked on by Sueoka to Darko on the run. The Montenegrin ran clear on the left and cut back for Sueoka whose low drive went wide.

In the final minutes of the half, Dempo had a great chance after some poor play from the Pune FC backline who gave away the ball cheaply outside the box on the right. Lenny Rodrigues capitalised and found Jewel Raja inside the box. The midfielder turned and attempted a curler at the far post but keeper Amrinder once again produced a fantastic save to keep the scores unchanged going into the breather.

The second half began with some end to end action from the opening minute. For Pune FC, Prakash put one back in the net from a header in the 47th minute on Lalrempuia’s cross in from the right only to be pulled up for a foul. Meanwhile, the hosts were denied two minutes later when Carlos’ shot from inside the box was blocked just outside the goalline by Anas Edathodika.

The game had turned physical with both sides being involved in a lot of fouls. For Pune FC, defender Srikanth Ramu and striker Darko went into the book in the opening quarter of the second half.

As the game entered the final twenty-five minutes, it exploded with action. First, it was Pune FC who doubled their lead in the 67th minute. Lalrempuia picked up the ball on the midfield and ran clear towards the right. With no defender closing him down he hit a dipping shot at the far post which bounced inside the box and hit the vertical before going in past an outstretched Laxmikant Kattimani.

Two minutes later, Dempo pulled one back when substitute Tolgay capitalised on the Pune FC defense’s failure to clear the line and slotted home from close range.

Three minutes later, medio Ganesh was harshly sent off for a second bookable offense after he fouled Carlos outside the box. The red card was his second this season and an immediate one after coming back from a two-game suspension for his first red in the game against Bharat FC (Apr 4).

Despite being down to ten men in the final quarter, both sides continued to attack. While Dempo had a better share of possession, Pune FC managed to keep the pressure and hold on for a 2-1 win.

Hero of the Match: Lalrempuia Fanai (PFC)