Day 3, Match 3, Draw 1

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The third ISL match saw many interesting moments and instigated a fact that if the attacking stats of the opposite team are way higher than yours, you still stand a chance to make it at least a Draw!

The match between Delhi Dynamos FC and FC Pune City ended in a no goal match. 0-0.

It is usually observed that a goalless match is a tedious one, but not this one. It was a curious match in which the home team, Delhi, was way stronger than the guest team, Pune and still could not manage to score a single goal.

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The match started with Delhi's marquee player, Alessandro del Piero on bench. The Danish player, Mads Junker, created many chances for the home team and within 15 minutes the attack index was in favour of Delhi. It soon changed to 70-30 (Delhi-Pune), yet there was no goal. Skoubo's injury forced van Veldhoven to send Piero on field but it was interesting to see how Pune kept the pace of the game, preventing Piero to enter. Delhi played with 10 players for almost 2 minutes. Fernandez failed miserably. The main reason for the attack graph favouring Delhi was Pune's disorganized midfield. There was a lot of visible space that Delhi acknowledged and turned in its favour. It was the South Korean player,Park, who impressed us and played a major role in Pune's defence.

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In the second half, del Piero used his experience to acquire a free kick that could not meet the net. Till the 66th minute, Delhi's attack graph kept on increasing with 11 attempts and 5 on-target shots as opposed to Pune's 6 attempts with only 2 on-target shots. Park's injury led to a forced substitution for Pune, adding to Franco Colomba's worries. Almost absent midfield of Pune helped Delhi to choreograph formations and passes. For 15 minutes Pune looked strong in the front but could not arrange a goal. Junker was substituted for the Brazilian, Santos, during the last leg of the match but score line didn't budge. Del Piero was awarded Hero of the match.

It was fascinating to see how a team like Pune was able to contain a team like Delhi Dynamos at several times. Delhi had all the advantage, a 6'10'' tall goal keeper, Italian star Piero, pace , technique and strength, yet, they failed to score any goal because of Pune's unbreakable spirit to play till the end. Both the teams had to settle for 1 point each.

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Our player of the match is Danish player, Mads Junker. The 33 year old forward kept on creating opportunities for Delhi. His game was well organized and his passes were accurate. He appeared stronger than del Piero.