Nigerian scores winner in 65th minute as Sachin Tendulkar’s Kerala beat FC Pune City
Kerala Blasters emerged victorius 2-1
Pune: It started out as a one-sided affair with chants of “Trezegoal” (referring to David Trezeguet) and “Pune, Pune.” But the end result of the match between FC Pune City and Kerala Blasters FC here left the fans here high and dry, the villain of the day being Penn Orji. Call it change of goalkeeper or luck, the team from south India – co-owned by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar – tasted their first win overcoming the hosts 1-2 on Thursday.
Pune custodian Emanuele Belardi had expressed discomfort when CS Sabeeth ran for the ball and ended up colliding with the Italian. He was substituted with Arindam Bhattacharya in the second period of play.
Nonetheless, Kerala’s star player Michael Chopra was not available for the clash and Orji, like a true leader, upped the ante. After two successive yellow cards five minutes after kick-off, both sides were tied 1-1 in the first period. Orji broke the deadlock in the 65th minute after receiving a brilliant cross from Canadian Iain Hume.
Earlier, Trezeguet drew first blood for the hosts from a John Goossens assist in the 15th minute. A minute before, Kostas Katsouranis had missed a sitter from the marquee player. The Pune players could not keep up to their potential in the long run. Kerala Blasters FC’s equalizer came in the 41st minute. CS Sabeeth – almost cursing himself for missing a chance in the 40th – scored the next minute, much like Pune’s first goal, Cedric Hengbart being his assistant in the business.
Though the host had their chances, but it looked far from a finish. In the 57th minute, Bruno Cirillo had located Goosens within a decent range but the latter, who was looking for Trezeguet in the box, failed to take charge of the situation. Next, in the 70th minute, Ivan Bolado was supplied with a brilliant ball by Trezeguet which he passed to Ashutosh Mehta. Had he gone for the net instead of finding Mehta, the outcome could be different. After the victory, Kerala Blasters FC are now placed fifth in the standings, one above FC Pune City.
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