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FC Pune City were made to work hard for their three points against Jamshedpur FC in Wednesday's ISL encounter. Steve Coppell's men took the lead in the first half but the home side fought back and scored two quickfire goals to bag a crucial win.
Tonight's victory takes Pune to the summit of the points table. They now have 22 points from 12 outings. Here are the major talking points from tonight's game.
#1 No holds barred start from both teams
All sides in the ISL have now played at least 10 matches each and it's safe to say we're in the business end of the season. Slowly but steadily, there seems to be some clarity in the race for the top 4 spots.
Pune City and Jamshedpur realize that draws will no longer cut it. As a result, both sides came out all guns blazing tonight. The home side threatened early on from a corner kick. At the other end, Jamshedpur's, Farukh Choudhary forced a clever save from Pune keeper, Vishal Kaith.
It was evident, both teams were looking to impose themselves early on. There was a sense of abandon and it made for an extremely intriguing game. Caution was certainly thrown out of the window.
#2 Wellington Priori floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee
Jamshedpur took the lead tonight and it came out of nowhere. New signing, Wellington Priori was a thorn in Pune City's side tonight and his efforts bore fruit in the first half. Pune keeper, Vishal Kaith failed to command his area, which led to confusion between him and one of his defenders, Sahil Panwar.
The both of them clashed into each other and Wellington made the most of it. What looked like an aimless through ball proved to be pivotal. The Brazilian covered a lot of distance tonight and played the role of the dynamic midfielder to perfection.
He chased down the loose ball and calmly slotted home into an empty net with the outside of his foot. All this while Vishal and Sahil ran into each other and ended up on the floor.
#3 Has Izu Azuka started a new fashion trend in football?
Izu Azuka was in fine form tonight. Jamshedpur's forward was a constant threat down the right wing and he caused a host of problems for Gurtej Singh and Sahil Panwar. The Nigerian used his pace to get the better of his markers, executed some clever flicks and regularly positioned himself in dangerous areas of the final third.
But what caught everyone's eye was his choice of shorts. Izu decided to chop off some inches from one side of his shorts while maintaining the usual length for the other side. We can't remember the last time someone wore a pair of shorts of uneven length.
One plausible reason could be that he had a slight wound of some kind on his left thigh. Or maybe Izu Azuka merely decided to make a fashion statement.
#4 Was Emiliano Alfaro's attempt the worst miss in ISL history?
Emiliano Alfaro hasn't had a bad season for FC Pune City by any means. In fact, he had notched up 5 goals in 11 matches before tonight. However, today, the forward made a mess of a gilt-edged opportunity.
Marcelo Pereira found himself clearly through on goal but his average touch was expertly thwarted by Suprata Pal, who had sprinted off his line. The loose ball fell kindly to Alfaro and he had the entire goal at his mercy. With no goalkeeper in sight, all he had to do was smash the ball into an empty net.
But the Uruguayan pondered for far too long. By the time he decided to shoot, Yumnam Raju put his body on the line and blocked what would have been a surefire equalizer. Nevertheless, he did make amends by scoring Pune's crucial second from close range in the second half. His first in five games.
#5 Jamshedpur blow glorious opportunity to build momentum
Had Jamshedpur won tonight against FC Pune City, they would have had 19 points from 12 games, the same as Pune. Three points against a fellow contender for the top 4 spot would have been a great morale booster for Steve Coppell's men.
After having taken the lead tonight, Jamshedpur's intensity and tempo declined. The high pressing was nowhere to be seen and the slick passing was replaced by a lacklustre football. Given the circumstances and the way they began the match, the visitors ought to have at least bagged a point.
However as time passed, Jamshedpur's performance in the final third continued to dwindle. After tonight's result, they remain in fifth position, trailing Goa by three points, who have two game in hand.
