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Pune City opened their account when they met FC Goa while Kerala Blasters settled for a draw with the table-toppers, Atletico de Kolkata. Both the teams had an upbeat morale when they faced each other at Shree Shiva Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium, Pune. But this time it was James' team that put paid to Colomba's side. We have said it in our earlier article as well that Kerala is a strong team that deserves a win and now they have finally broken the jinx.FC Pune city (1) - Kerala Blasters (2)
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Within three minutes of the kick off, a yellow card was handed to Tapan Maity. Iain Hume tried to tap the free kick with a header but the ball went above the goal. An early yellow card came for the guests as Nirmal tackled Maity. The home team looked worried as they could not get the ball inside the box but soon they put this tension to bay and with a beautiful ball delivered by Goossens, Trezeguet gave Pune its lead(15'). The team looked confident after the goal and played well. James substituted Renedy for Ishfaq Ahmed who tripped Maity near the half line. Hume wasted yet another free kick by firing the ball above the cross bar. A well taken corner by Pearson denied Pune its lead as Sabeeth did not waste any time to convert it into a goal. Jhingan got booked for his rash tackle on Ashutosh. Mehtab was replaced by Milagres just before the half time whistle.
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The second half was started with both the teams standing at par. Belardi had to leave the turf for Arindham as the keeper got injured. After a corner for Kerala, Park was called on the ground for Maity. Sabeeth and Jhingan presented a beautiful game by dominating the left flank. Orji was finally called for Gusmao. Goossens was also substituted for Bolado. Orji received a thorough ball through Hume from the right flank and gave his team a lead. He tried to increase the goal difference but was held by the keeper. Pune tried hard with a corner and a free kick to come back but failed . Kerala enjoyed the possession and Orji tried once again giving the keeper a tough time. 'Hero of the Match' was Iain Hume.
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After the match Goossens stressed that they must at least win the home games and Colomba highlighted his team's errors. Truth be told, Kerala is a really good team with bad time. Now that the team has had the taste of a win, we are sure that James will boost his men to become greedy for this pleasure. We suggest that Hume, like Do (Northeast United), should spend some time on the bench.
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Our 'Man of the Match' is Penn Orji. It came as a little surprise that Orji was not in the Line-up for starting 11 but we couldn't agree more with James' strategy of bringing the Nigerian in the second half. Orji always has a great impact on the game and this is the second time that we have chosen him for the honour.
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