East Bengal got the better of Pune FC in Pune during a pulsating 3-2 win. The scoreline barely reflected the way the home team were dominated by the visitors. The primary reason for this was poor goalkeeping by East Bengal’s Abhijit Mondal. His two howlers between the sticks resulted in two unlikely goals for Pune. Ranti Martins, Dudu Omagbeni and Harmanjot Khabra got on the scoresheet for the visitors, while Matthew Gonsalves and Darko Nikac scored one each for the home side.
Here is how the players performed on the night:
Pune FC
Amrinder Singh – 5.5/10 – He was forced into a couple of good saves, but could not have done much to save the goals.
Matthew Gonsalves – 6/10 – He had a decent night which saw him score a lucky goal, when he lobbed a cross from the byline in an attempt to prevent the ball from running out of play. The high ball ended into the back of the net after poor judgement by Mondal in the East Bengal goal.
Anas Edathodika – 5/10 – Despite making a couple of crucial interventions, this was a rather forgetful night for the Pune FC centre half, whose indecisive, sliced clearance led to the Bengal team’s second goal.
Luciano Sobrosa – 6/10 – He was rock solid in the defence and was equally involved in the attack – most notably two 40-yard crosses which troubled the East Bengal defenders.
Raju Yumnam – 4/10 – He was caught wandering off his position on a couple of occasions, one of which led to the first goal. He let his side down by making a couple of erratic challenges in the first half and some bad touches.
Lalramluaha Hmar – 6/10 – He was good in curbing the opposition’s attacks and did well distributing the ball.
Arata Izumi – 6.5/10 – He tried his best to control the tempo of the game, but had a rather quiet evening in terms of fruitful play in the final third.
Ryuji Sueoka – 6/10 – He enjoyed a fair amount of possession, but was barely effectual in the final third.
Fanai Lalrempuia – 6/10 – Just like his team’s midfielders, he could not create anything despite earning a fair amount of possession.
Thomgkhosiem Haokip – 6/10 – He was involved in a neat exchange of play with Haokip without much to show for. The Bengal defence was up to the task to break their play.
Darko Nikac – 6.5/10 – He had a rather quiet evening but did enough to capitalize on the Bengal custodian’s mistake, scoring one and almost bringing the home side back into the game.
East Bengal
Abhijit Mondal – 3.5/10 – The custodian had one of his most forgettable games. Two shocking mistakes, both of which led to goals and summed up what was a miserable night for him.
Robert Lalthlamuana – 5.5/10 – He did enough to ward off any threat from the Pune wingers.
Arnab Mondal – 6/10 – The scoreline sounds a bit harsh on the Bengal defenders, especially Arnab Mondal, who did a good job.
Milan Šušak – 5.5/10 – He was shown a yellow card very early in the game for an erratic challenge, but maintained his cool throughout and kept the Pune FC forwards at bay.
Harmanjot Singh Khabra – 7.5/10 – He played a key role in distributing the ball. He managed to score a crucial goal at the start of the second half, which subdued the home side.
Leo Bertos – 6.5/10 – The New Zealander was everywhere in the game and assisted the away side’s first goal .
Mehtab Hossain – 6/10 – He did a good job screening the defenders and broke the home side’s attacks throughout the game.
Abhishek Das – 4/10 – He did not have much to do after the coach decided to get him off early in the first half.
Cavin Lobo – 5/10 – The crafty winger did not see much of the ball and was rather quiet.
Dudu Omagbemi – 7.5/10 – The Nigerian’s energy levels were up throughout the game, giving nightmares to the home defence. He got the second goal courtesy of a left foot shot bagging the Player of the Match trophy for himself.
Ranti Martins – 8/10 – The Nigerian was at his best throughout the night. He capped the night off with a beautifully taken volley for his side’s first goal.