FC Pune City and Delhi Dynamos played out what was arguably one of the most thrilling games of this Indian Super League season so far. With momentum constantly shifting between the two sides, the game stretched into stoppage time, where Pune came up top to claim a hard-fought 4-3 win at the Balewadi stadium on Friday..
The first half saw the home side dominate proceedings and create numerous chances. Luck though eluded them as Mohamed Sissoko missed a penalty.
The Delhi outfit soon punished Pune for the error, scoring a minute before the half-time break through Kean Lewis who struck a crisp drive from Memo’s cross to put the Dynamos in the lead.
Pune came out guns blazing in the second half and equalised through Anibal Zurdo’s header from a pin-point free-kick from Jonathan Lucca.
The home side immediately took the lead as Sissoko redeemed himself for the earlier miss. His strike from close-range gave the side the vital advantage which was doubled just a minute later as Pune’s Zurdo capitalised on a defensive blunder from Ruben Rocha.
An Eduardo Ferreira own goal got one back for Gianluca Zambrotta’s side 11 minutes from time but Lenny Rodrigues restored Pune’s advantage in stoppage time.
Delhi struck through Malsawmzuala immediately to make it 4-3, but there was very little time left in the game for the visitors to draw level.
It was end-to-end for most part of the game. Pune were cashing in as Dynamos made a few changes to their side for the game. Momar Ndoye was given acres of space on the left flank and Zurdo was linking up play with clever passes.
Delhi goalkeeper Soram Anganba pulled off many good saves and guessed the right way from a weak penalty from Sissoko. Even though it took a while, Delhi found their footing in the game and should have gone ahead through Marcelinho but the Brazilian made a mess of a golden opportunity after going one-on-one with Pune keeper Edel Bete.
Delhi found the net at the stroke of half-time and it was Marcelinho who set it up with a clever back-heel to find Memo, who found Lewis in the box.
Pune’s efforts finally paid off as the Delhi defence came second in a dead-ball situation with Zurdo finding space and heading the ball home. There was a sense of relief on skipper Sissoko’s face as he poked the ball in from close range to put his side in the lead.
Rocha failed to control Anganba’s short-pass and Zurdo latched on to the ball, took a touch and thumped the ball home, leaving the keeper flat-footed.
There was plenty to late drama as Malouda made an excellent late run and Pune defender Eduardo Ferreira bundled the ball into his own net to make it 3-2. Dynamos pushed up at will and Anganba had to jump and push out a long-range try from Lenny Rodrigues. The Pune midfielder got his goal a few minutes later.
Just when one thought the match was dead and buried, the Dynamos hit back only a minute later with teenager Malsawmzuala finishing from a rebound from Malouda’s try. Pune managed to hang on and climb to fourth on goal difference.
Result
FC Pune City 4 (Anibal Zurdo x 2, Mohamed Sissoko, Lenny Rodrigues) beat Delhi Dynamos 3 (Kean Lewis, Eduardo Ferriera [o.g], Malsawmzuala)
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