FC Pune City were down by a Kean Lewis (44th minute) goal in the first half but turned the match around in second half with goals from Anibal Rodriguez (55th and 63rd), Mohammed Sissoko (62nd) and Lenny Rodrigues (90th), while an own goal from Eduardo Ferreira (79th) and Malsawmzuala (90th) kept Delhi Dynamos in the hunt till the very end. Also Read: ISL 2016: FC Pune City 4-3 Delhi Dynamos - Player ratings...
For two successive years, Mumbai failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ISL, despite being loaded with talent. In the first season, Mumbai finished seventh from among the eight participating teams and could finish only sixth last year. The third edition of ISL has not even kicked off but it’s Mumbai City that has made news for all the right reasons and look the best bet to seal one of the four semi-final spots....
In Case You Didn’t Know Vineeth had joined Bengaluru FC in 2014 and won the I-League with them in his debut season. Certain sections of fans suspected that he missed this match without any prior information as he did not wish to play against his former side. The Heart of the Matter According to his Twitter thread, Vineeth had felt the injury a day prior to the Sunday match-up and as the press conference had been held before, information couldn’t be passed on to the media....
Goa’s coach, Sergio Lobera was adamant that his side did not deserve to leave Mumbai empty-handed. “Obviously, the sensation isn’t great because I don’t think we deserved to lose. Particularly in the second half, the game was very open and we create a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we don’t have the points or the result that we deserved,” he said. Goa’s goalkeeper, Laximant Kattimani was largely responsible for Sunday’s loss....
Despite their latest loss to defending champions ATK, assistant coach Shakti Chauhan believes there is enough time for the Dynamos to recover. Standing in for a suspended Portugal in the game at Kolkata, the assistant coach remarked that the side needs at least two back-to-back wins to leap back into contention. “It is disappointing but it’s a longer league this time. If we win two games back to back, we might be back in contention....
The four-match suspension is effective immediately and a fine of ₹5,00,000 has also been handed out to Popovic. “Mr. Ranko Popovic, Head Coach of FC Pune City is fined Rs 5,00,000 (Five Lakh INR) and is suspended for 4 (four) matches of FC Pune City, from the date of this decision. The amount should be deposited to All India Football Federation (AIFF) within 10 days from the date of communication of this decision and until such payment, the match suspension to continue, over and above 4 match suspension,” said the AIFF Disciplinary Committee’s communication to FC Pune City....
“The reaction of the players was very good in terms of getting up after the loss against ATK at home. The win that we got has put us back in the league. We have to play with a lot of seriousness and focus and I hope we learn that as the games go by. For us, it is really important to make it two wins in a row,’’ he commented....
“The first time I spoke to John (Abraham), he said this is a team which has never reached play-offs. Our objective is to reach the play-offs. I hope the best happens this season and want to help the team reach play-offs,” said coach Joao de Deus. The 41-year-old coach mentioned that he wouldn’t want to dwell on the mistakes made in the last three seasons at NorthEast United. “I went to Shillong first....
Kerala Blasters head coach Rene Meulensteen revealed that he has no injury concerns ahead of Friday’s Indian Super League (ISL) opener against ATK in Kochi. However, he admitted that the players are still a few weeks away from achieving excellent physical condition. “We are maybe three-to-four weeks away from hitting top fitness. Everybody is fit, everybody is available to play. I can basically pick anybody to play.” Meulensteen repeated the age-old ‘defence-first’ philosophy and rightfully so, considering the attacking arsenal available to rivals ATK....
The other goal scorer was Eduardo Martin Garcia. This is the first time Bengaluru are playing the ISL, and in the very first match, the captain led the way for the ‘Blues’. The context In the 67th minute of the match, Edu, who played for Real Zaragoza’s B team, broke the ice for the BFC. He played a one-two with Udanta Singh and then unleashed a blistering left-footer as Mumbai goalie Amrinder Singh was beaten at the near post....
GK: Rehenesh TP (NorthEast United) The Kerala-born custodian has been with the Highlanders right from season 1 of the ISL but had endured a difficult start this time, committing some errors that led to the opposition scoring and also getting sent off against Kerala Blasters earlier in the campaign. But he put in a great shift against FC Goa to give NorthEast United their first home win this season, pulling off 5 saves, grabbing 7 crosses and was also alert to the danger, punching the ball away 7 times....
Fans and pundits alike are busy putting their heads together and trying to think who each team will pick in the draft and the think tanks of each ISL franchise will also be formulating their game plan and top targets. ISL Player Draft: Rules, Schedule and Venue The draft will be held on Sunday, July 23, in Mumbai from 10:00 AM IST onward. Each team has to pick a minimum of 15 Indian players (including retained players and two U21 players) and as such the strategies of the teams will be very interesting to see....
The former Bengaluru FC striker helped the Blues win the Federation Cup with a sensational strike back in 2015 but he also celebrated after scoring twice for East Bengal against BFC in an I-League match in 2017. His return to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday then was met with cheers by the BFC supporters at the West Block A Stand. But that soon turned into jeers when Robin dropped BFC captain Sunil Chhetri to the ground to stop a counter....
While the visitors have nothing to lose, a win for ATK will put them right back in the hunt for the championship. ATK’s coach Steve Coppell feels that they have suffered a lot during set-piece movements and the players need to be responsible in such situations. During the pre-match press conference, the Englishman said, Meanwhile, their start striker Kalu Uche has fled back to Barcelona after suffering an injury and is unlikely to play before January....
During the pre-match conference, Steve Coppell mentioned that they did not distribute enough balls to their main attacker Manuel Lanzarote which was a reason for their lacklustre performance. “That’s what we want. I’ve said right from the first time that our objective is to get the ball to our key personnel. In order to effectively get the ball, Lanza had to come deeper and deeper the other night. He has a terrific left-foot and is a fabulous talent in Indian Football....
English defender John Johnson, who was part of Bengaluru FC till the last season, will now play against them for the first time on Wednesday evening. Bengaluru FC’s coach Carles admitted that the team will miss a player of his calibre. “We are sorry to miss players like John Johnson. Unfortunately, tomorrow he’ll be playing in another shirt, but we’ll have to do with that,” said the coach during the pre-match press conference....
The signings have been top-notch which helped him win the league in his debut season in the subcontinent. The likes of Henrique Sereno and Bikramjit Singh played a huge part in the title success. But, they have decided to look elsewhere in order to assay a new challenge. Despite these two outgoings, there is no doubt about the quality available at stack within the team. In addition to that, the arrivals of Eli Sabia, Andrea Orlandi, Carlos Salom and Ngasepam Tobonda Singh have bolstered the squad even further....
Jamshedpur FC playing their second consecutive away match ended their first match 2 goals ahead of Mumbai City FC. Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC had got past Chennaiyin FC with a single sharp strike from the Venezuelan striker Miku. Both the teams are taking the field with a lot of positives from their first match. It has to be seen which team would be going in confident and would walk out with the winning goal....
The two sides were part of a scoreless draw which proved to be a cagey affair due to the defence-first approach from both the managers. Eelco Schattorie made four changes to the side that beat Pune City 2-0 with the likes of Federico Gallego and Robert Lalthlamuana coming in with Juan Mascia, the star name dropping to the bench. Cesar Ferrando made just one change to the home side’s starting XI with Pratik Chaudhary coming in for the injured Raju Gaikwad....
The NFL will soon go from having 16 matchups per week to a maximum of six. Those contests will be spread out over a few days, but it still won’t be anything like the marathon that is the regular season. And with college football bowl games coming to an end, that will mean football fans will no longer be able to catch a game every day of the week. They won’t even be able to watch a game on Thursday for the first time since the summer....
