Sanli seals it for FC Pune City
Rafi and Uche provide fantastic feast; demoralising defeat for Blasters
If the two English managers — the local team’s David Platt and visiting team’s Peter Taylor — anxiously took their seats before the kick off, they were soon excited and calmed by some splendid goal-scoring undertaking by Nigerian Kalu Uche for FC Pune City and the home-grown Mohammed Rafi for Kerala Blasters FC in the first half of the Indian Super League match at the Baledwadi Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
Finally, it turned out to be heartbreak for Blasters as they went down 2-3, as Pune’s Turkish midfielder Tuncay Sanli deflected a header past Stephen Bywater with the brilliant Englishman Nicholas Shorey playing a big part from the left wing.
It was the home team’s fourth win in the tournament that took it to the top of the table, and a fourth consecutive loss for Blasters.
Nothing had prepared the goodly 9,000-plus crowd — that included some of the top Indian tennis players like Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni and a few foreigners — for a rip-roaring opening session. The first 45 minutes needed to be extended only by one minute injury time. The referee C.R. Srikrishna was not compelled to pull out a card of any colour too. That’s what transpired with Rafi heading home well under the first 60 seconds of the match after Chris Dagnall had sent a superb aerial ball from the right wing.
Counter-attack
The home team counter-attacked with captain and linkman Didier Zokora from Ivory Coast taking upon the role of a playmaker.
In fact, he surprised the rival team with a long range cannon-ball shot in the 15th minute, but English goalkeeper Bywater stood up to the challenge.
Clearly, Pune took control and when Nigerian Kalu Uche used his head to find the equaliser following a Shorey aerial pass well inside the penalty area, the hard game between the two teams had truly begun.
The ploy to work from the left wing through left-back Shorey worked wonders; Platt made it so obvious, dropping Richard Johnson from the line-up at the start and giving Argentinian Diego Colotto a chance. Shorey could not be far removed from action; he was back, outwitting two Blasters and backpassing for Uche to make a clean left-footer at the half way stage of the first session. It was the Nigerian’s fourth goal in the ongoing competition. But Rafi, who has an injury scare, found the target again with his head following a fine jump in front of the box.
The ball crossed the goalline though only after hitting the right and left post. This time Spanish midfielder Josu Currias floated the ball into the penalty area from the left for Rafi to register his fourth goal of the tournament giving Gouramangi Singh no chance to clear.
Johnson replaced Colotto at the start of the second session, and thereafter Dharmaraj Ravanan came in for Pritam Kotal and Yendrick Ruiz for Tuncay Sanli after the last-named had put Pune ahead with a 72nd-minute header.
The visitors too made changes, which included Cavin Lobo coming in for Rafi.
Five goals in the match was a fantastic treat for the spectators, a super win for the home team and another demoralising defeat for Blasters.
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