Alfaro’s Brace Puts Pune Into A Winning Streak

The tightly contested Maharashtra Derby in Pune came to a nail biting finish, as the hosts beat Mumbai for 2-1. The early lead Mumbai earned through Balwant singh went to waste, as Pune rapidly changed the game right from the seventieth minute of the game. Even though, Mumbai defended well for most part of the game and kept FC Pune at bay on several occasions, the penalty given away by Raju Gaikwad in the 73rd minute changed the course of the game.

Mumbai seemed like the better team for the first 70 minutes however things didn’t go well as planned for them after Emiliano Alfaro scored the penalty. Alfaro once again stepped up his game and scored another goal in the final minutes of the match to seal the victory for Pune.

It seemed that the match will end on a 1-1 draw for a moment. However, Pune’s counter attacking magic and the pure brilliance of Jonatan Lucca helped hosts earn three valuable points. Jonatan Lucca who has been terrific throughout the match delivered the pass of the game in the 93^rd minute over the Mumbai defence from the halfway line.

Diego Carlos, who was standing one on one with the Mumbai Goalkeeper, received the ball on the end of the pass. He decided to do the smart thing and passed the ball to Alfaro, who placed the ball into an empty net with ease. Pune has bounced back with two back to back victories after their defeat against Delhi Dynamos in the first match to cement their position in the ISL standings table.

After winning the match against the defending champions, Athletico De Kolkata, FC Pune Coach Ranko Popovic quoted, "It was a very crucial and important step for us to get our first three points and we will try to do the same at home. But it was especially important because this club doesn't have a great record at winning away games.”

On the other hand, Mumbai will need to concentrate more on their attack and strengthen their defence to secure a safe spot on the table.