Pune: It was a tale of two penalties. While the first one was converted, the second wasn’t. Pune FC rode on Mandjou Keita’s conversion from the spot and a late strike from Subhash Singh to beat defending champions Salgaocar SC 2-0 in an I-League match at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Wednesday (April 18).
Mandjou didn’t make any mistake when he scored from the first penalty of the evening in the 27th minute. The penalty was awarded after Nicolva Colaco handled a Mandjou Keita header off a Paresh cross in the box.
But while Pune FC kept their calm, Salgaocar couldn’t. The Goan giants had their best chance to pull it back in the 57th minute when winger Ishfaq Ahmed was brought down in the box. But Rahul Kumar failed to get past rival goalkeeper Shahinlal who dived to his right to palm it away. Despite the miss, Salgaocar did launch a series of attacks at the rival citadel in the second half. But the Pune defence didn’t panic and stood tall.
Pune FC finally sealed the fate of the match in the 87th minute when striker Subhash Singh chipped it over rival goalkeeper Karanjit Singh after being put in the clear by Douhou.
The victory took Pune FC to 46 points from 25 matches while Salgaocar stay on 40 points from 24 matches.
By Indian Sports News Network
