Pune Football Club (PFC) paid the price for lack of coordination and poor finishing as they lost 0-1 to visiting Air India in an ONGC I-league match at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi on Thursday.
This was Air India’s first match this season since their opener against Sporting Clube de Goa was washed out. The Mumbai club got a perfect start from striker Ravinder Singh in the 12th minute. PFC ‘keeper Subrata Paul misjudged the angle and saw the ball roll into the net.
Air India opted for a 5-3-2 formation and PFC strikers found it difficult to get past their defence. It didn’t help that their star striker Shanmugam Venkatesh was missing in action. The hosts failed to convert even after creating a number of opportunities.
“We definitely missed Venkatesh. He can convert chances and knows how to unlock even the best of defences,” said PFC coach Derrick Pereira. He also blamed “poor refereeing on at least three occasions”.
“I agree that the co-ordination in the midfield was missing but the poor decisions by the referee at crucial times made our team lose momentum,” Pereira said.
Air India coach Bimal Ghosh praised custodian Arnab Das Sharma who delivered a stellar performance.
“Arnab made some brilliant saves. He made us feel safe and secure. This helped our midfielders to counter attack.” The foreign players did well for PFC in their first match against East Bengal but it was not an issue that bothered Ghosh.
Mumbai FC will play Chirag United in an I-League encounter in Kolkata on Friday. The Mumbai club had lost 1-3 to Dempo in their opener.
