On the eve of the match, Pune FC coach Derrick Pereira said that they wanted to play good football while Air India coach Yousuf Ansari looked desperate for a win come what may.
And both of them kept their promises - with one team controlling the proceedings while the other walking away with three crucial points.
For the record, Air India edged out Pune FC via a Kailash Patil goal in the Round 16 ONGC I-League fixture at the Cooperage on Sunday.
It can be said that Pune FC played good football - at least after the change of ends - while Air India managed to score the all-important goal in the 53rd minute to seal the match’s fate.
Pune FC could have easily taken the lead through Edmar Figueira but his shot missed the target in the 22nd minute.
One who braved a hot Sunday afternoon to be present at the Cooperage did get to see all the action he could have asked for — perfect receiving, immaculate passing and sharp shooting — all which are quite rare in Indian football these days. But lack of application in the penetrating zone let the neighbours down against an inferior bunch.
Going into the lemon break on an even keel, Air India made some surprise moves thereafter. And from one of those, Patil
suddenly got a loose ball just on top of the box. During the turn, Patil beat the closest defender to find Pune FC goalie Subroto Pal in a one-on-one situation. The short and stout midfielder made no mistake in slotting the ball home.
The match came alive just after Pune conceded the goal. The visitors went all out to throng the opposition defence at regular intervals, reminding their coach’s words time and again. But that wasn’t enough for the new entrants to gain anything materialistically.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the boys from Pune played near perfect football though all in vain. In to the last half-an-an-hour, a one-way traffic made lives difficult for stopper-backs Peter Odafe and Syeed Farid. But credit has to be given to the Air India defenders who sustained the enormous pressure for so long and prevented Pune from snatching a point.
By virtue of this defeat, the Pune outfit remains on fifth place with 23 points while Air India are placed third from the bottom with 18 points in their kitty.
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