Pune win match, Royals win hearts
SHILLONG: A relentless Royal Wahingdoh FC went down to Pune FC in a Round 8 Hero I-League match at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune despite dominating the entire second half which saw the visitors creating several openings and even hitting the woodwork once.
The hosts, who went into the lead in the 27th minute, held on to it although shakily, to see themselves reach the top of the table ahead of Mohun Bagan with 15 points in their kitty. The Royals, meanwhile, have dropped to fourth in the standings after their valiant effort failed to yield results on a day when lady luck refused to look at them.
Earlier, heavy rain made things difficult for the visitors as they lost control more than once on a turf rendered unfamiliar due to the wetness of the surface.
The first chance for the Royals, however, came in the 17th minute when a brilliant Jackichand blazed down the left flank and cut in a cross for Godwin Franco whose shot hit a Pune defender in turn.
However, hosts Pune FC went into the lead in the 27th minute when a cross from the left flank found the in-form Thongkosiem Haokip coming to the edge of the box and dispatching a shot into the bottom of the net.
Minutes later a possible penalty was denied to the Royals when star striker Kim Seong-Yong was apparently brought down inside the box.
The Royals came all guns blazing crossing over with Jacki, Seityasen Singh, Kim and company looking to make amends for the first half. Five minutes into the second half, Jackichand made a clever run before unleashing a shot at goal which the rival goalie did well to negotiate.
A couple of minutes later, the Royals came close to converting on two occasions. In the first instance both Seitya and Kim failed to get to a well placed Jackichand ball following which the Royals No. 10 himself saw a shot from a good position blocked by a rival defender.
In the 55th minute a powerful Jacki shot kissed the net to go out. Later in the 64th minute, Jacki once again weaved his way through before passing to Kim, whose shot went straight to Amrinder.
Jacki had a flurry of chances but unfortunately could not get the equalizer for his side. Nevertheless, it was all Royal Wahingdoh in the rain in the second half as Pune were left doing the defending job throughout.
By the 76th minute, Bekay Bawar had replaced Kim and Marlangki came in for Jacki.
With less than 10 minutes to go for the regulation time, Reagan Singh’s shot on the goal was somehow tipped away by Amrinder.
However, Royals’ best chance to snatch a point from Pune went bagging when a powerful Densill Theobald shot from long range hit the top of the bar in the 90th minute. Densill came up with the brilliant attempt from 40 yards away. However, the skipper failed to save the day for his side. However, Densill’s effort was also lauded by the Pune fans.