Kolkata: Having surged to No 3 after their 3-1 upset win over leaders Atletico de Kolkata, FC Pune City captain Bruno Cirillo on Saturday said there’s no stopping them if they continue to play with the same momentum.
“If we continue to playing like this we can finish on the top. We work as a team and play as a team,” the Italian, who captained the side in absence of David Trezeguet, told.
Pune City FC jumped to third spot behind Chennaiyin FC on goal difference as Atletico de Kolkata remained steady on 12 points. Trezeguet did not travel with the side as the management did not want to risk the French World Cup winner on this artificial surface of Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan.
Bruno said it was an opportunity for Dudu to make it count as the coach now has a problem of aplenty. “Now it’s a team with many players so it’s a big task for the coach. We are a good family with many players. Everybody is ready to play in the game,” Cirillo said.
Showering praise on Dudu, he said: “For sure we know he’s (David Trezeguet) a big player. we knew he won’t be with us. It was a big opportunity for Dudu and I’m very happy for him. He did a fantastic job. “I didn’t see the goal but the job. We knew Kolkata was a big team, on the top of the table. We studied them a little bit.”
Critical of the performance, Atletico de Kolkata coach Antonio Habas on Saturday said their team was not invincible but they would keep fighting as they picked their first loss midway into the stage.
“Maybe people thought we are top of the table and it’s easy. But we never thought like that. It’s tough both in home and away games,” coach Habas told reporters after their shocking 1-3 loss to Pune here on Friday.
Summing up their first leg campaign in which ATK finished atop the table with 12 points from seven matches, he said: “Today we finished the first half of the league and only lost one game and I think we did very well.”
Blaming the whole side for the defeat, he said: “Pune did very well today. We also created six-seven chances and could score one. Pune got four and scored three. That is sport.”
“It’s not just about one player and the whole team failed.” Two points clear of Chennaiyin FC who have played two matches less, ATK’s position atop the table is under threat as their goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury termed it a wake up call. “It was a wake-up call for the team, we have to do well in the coming matches,” he added in a statement. (PTI)
