Sreenidi Deccan hold 81 per cent possession but go down to Aizawl FC at home | I-League 2023-24

Sreenidi Deccan crashed to an unexpected 1-2 loss in their third I-League game of the season against Aizawl FC at the Deccan Arena in Hyderabad on Tuesday (November 7). This will be a rather strange defeat for the Deccan Warriors to take, as they dominated possession of the ball for 81 per cent of the time.

Aizawl, who had the ball only for the rest of the time, took the lead early on in the game thanks to a strike from Ramdinthara in the 26th minute itself. Sreenidi managed to dominate Aizawl throughout the game but could not prevent a wonder goal from Rohmingthanga Bawlte in the 91st minute.

Although centre-back Pawan Kumar pulled one back for Sreenidi in the 96th minute, the hosts could not score another and equalize.

The story of the game was when Bawlte, soon after scoring the second goal for Aizawl, picked up two yellow cards in the space of four minutes and got sent off. He will now be suspended.

Sreenidi will be disappointed with this result given how well they had dominated the last two games they played in the league.

For the uninitiated, Sreenidi beat NEROCA 4-0 and Inter Kashi 4-1 in the last two matches that they played in the I-League, both at home.

"It's disappointing when you concede goals" - Sreenidi Deccan head coach Carlos Vaz Pinto

Sreenidi looked like the favorites to win this game, as the statistics of 81 per cent possession and 17 shots prove. However, they failed in the one statistic that matters the most in football games - to score more goals than their opponents.

It is a wonder that the visiting side managed to win this game despite holding possession for just 19 per cent of the time. Speaking to the media after the game, their head coach Carlos Vaz Pinto was understandably dejected.

"It's disappointing when you concede goals but I'm not talking about the way we conceded the goals. We could've avoided these goals today with the way we played," said Pinto.

"81% possession and 17 shots feels high as you can easily score more than one goal with these stats but sometimes that's football, we have to keep learning from our mistakes and perform better," he added.