Pune made the most of MFC’s defensive errors and a brace from Brazilian striker Edmar Figueira secured three crucial points against state rivals.
Mumbai FC find themselves in deep trouble after going down 1-2 to Pune FC at the Cooperage on Saturday. The round-19 loss means they will remain in the relegation zone.
Pune made the most of MFC’s defensive errors and a brace from Brazilian striker Edmar Figueira secured three crucial points against state rivals.
After a dull first-half, MFC took the lead through Daren Caldeira (55th minute) but the joy was short-lived as Edmar (59th and 73rd) sunk the local team’s hopes of moving out of the relegation zone. The win helps Pune move up to fifth place with 26 points while MFC continue to remain second from bottom with 20.
MFC looked pale up front without striker Abhishek Yadav and even though his replacement, Nishant Mehra, did a lot of running, it counted for nothing as MFC barely managed to breach the Pune defence.
While Pune’s defence was rock-solid, MFC’s back-four looked frail, leaving acres of space in the box for Pune. And they made the most of it. PFC kept their cool and survived a rampage early in the second-half. Soon after the restart, the local side was awarded a penalty after Bashiru Abbas was brought down. However, Subrata Pal made a brilliant save — by diving to his right — to deny Noel Wilson. However, two minutes later, MFC went ahead by a goal after Caldiera headed home a cross by Subhas Chakraborthy.
They say you are most vulnerable at the back when your team has just taken the lead, and MFC learned it the hard way. Four minutes after Caldiera scored, a lapse in concentration meant Edmar was left unmarked in the box and he brought the visitors back on level terms just before the hour-mark. The Brazilian made the most of another defensive lapse in the 73rd minute, making no mistake again to put Pune ahead by 2-1.
Jamil accepted that the team missed Yadav. “We scored the goal but didn’t win. We played well in the first-half but silly mistakes cost us the game. They got two opportunities and they scored,” he said.
With just seven matches remaining, Jamil will have to come up with something special to save his side from relegation. He, however, is still positive about his team surviving. “We have our next match against Mahindra and if we win, everything will be okay,” he said.
Meanwhile, Elijah Junior scored a brace in Sporting Clube de Goa’s 3-1 win over Salgaocar in Goa.
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