Lajong fans steal the show

So close yet so far…..what else can one say about the last 2 home games of Pune FC. 5 minutes against Dempo and yesterday a mere 30 seconds against Lajong FC. How close to the final whistle do Pune have to get, before they can register their first win in the I-League. Matches against Mumbai, Dempo and Lajong have had the same pattern. Pune have taken the lead only to be thwarted by a bad turf, shambolic defending or in this case bad refering.

But it was neither Pune nor Lajong that was the talking point of the night. It were the Lajong fans. I entered the stadium in the red of PFC hoping to find the same colour everywhere. All I could see was white. Banners, t-shirts, sweatshirts all in white, bearing the same thing. The Lajong logo. I asked myself…..is this Pune or Shillong.

Pune started the match with half the team down. Noticeable absentees were Chika Wali, Edmar and crowd favourite Sergey Tokov. The first half was very disappointing as Pune looked shaky. Be it defense or attack. Lajong striker Seikhohau Tuboi on the other hand was consistently making dangerous runs into the box. Pune looked out of shape with players running into wrong places on the park. The only players who were making an impact were captain Venkatesh and right back Sunil.

The first half ended with cries from the crowd to bring Tokov on. Pune coach Derrick Perreira introduced Anees in order to spark things up in midfield. However he did not last long as a badly timed tackle left him limping. The good thing about this was that he was replaced by Tokov. And what a change it turned out to be as it was Tokov who helped PFC take the lead.

Tokov who was constantly making inroads into the Lajong defense found himself at the end of a Kuttymani pass. He somehow managed to get past Wailadmi Pasah but before he could do anything Venkatesh unleashed a beauty from 27 yards out. It beat the keeper Rime, hit the inside of the post and rolled into the goal. 1-0 PFC.

Arata went close shortly after that from a Venky corner. Later Arata who otherwise had a disappointing game put the ball into the Lajong goal only to be called offside. A shocking decision as his run had looked fine. When the referee held up his board indicating 4 minutes of stoppage time we all had our fingers crossed, waiting for our first win. It wasnt to be as they conceded a penalty with 30 seconds left on the clock and we all went…. Not again!!!!!

What I witnessed yesterday was quite unbelievable. I had to sacrifice my favourite seats in the stadium to survive the Lajong onslaught. We were surrounded by the away support. As a PFC fan the chanting and the “Ole Ole Ole” was getting onto my nerves, but as a football fan…..I was speechless. It had taken 62 mins to silence the otherwise noisy Lajong fans. The spot kick however had roared them back to life. As Daniel Bidemi put the ball past Subrata Paul and I made my way to the exit, the entire Lajong team made their way to our stand to celebrate the goal. I think even the players themselves realise what is the reason and the driving force for their success. Their 12 th man.