Delhi Dynamos FC scored a resounding 3-1 victory against ten-man FC Pune City to make it six games without a defeat in a Hero Indian Super League clash at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Sunday.
Lallianzuala Chhangte (17’) gave Delhi the lead before a solo strike by Nikhil Poojary (23’) brought Pune level. Romeo Fernandes’ deflected effort (29’) and Daniel Lalhlimpuia’s second-half strike (52’) sealed the points for the hosts.
Delhi and Pune remain eighth and seventh on the table respectively with one more game left in the season. Josep Gombau’s men have taken their tally to 18 points.
Pune searched for an early breakthrough and had the Delhi backline in trouble twice in the first 10 minutes. Marcelinho’s corner was nodded wide by Matt Mills from the center of the box in the third minute.
Three minutes later, Nikhil Poojary caused the defenders to stand off as he surged forward into the opposition’s territory but the winger chose to chip the goalkeeper and over-hit a shot above the bar.
As Pune pressed forward, Delhi picked and chose their forays. In the 17th minute, a throw-in from the right flank helped the visitors carve their opponents open, as Daniel released Romeo down the right. The winger delivered an excellent cross into the center where Chhangte slammed the ball into the net.
A moment of individual brilliance allowed Pune to equalize in the 23rd minute. Nikhil cut in from the right flank and curled a delightful shot into the top right corner of the net to draw level.
An open-ended game produced half-chances for both teams but it was Delhi who regained their lead in the 30th minute, once again from the right flank. Ulises Davila punted the ball to Romeo whose cross from the right took a deflection off Sahil Panwar’s legs and looped into the net over goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh.
Despite the early promise for Pune in the second session, it was the visitors who scored in the 52nd minute and extended their lead through an excellent passing move. Gianni Zuiverloon played a one-two with Adria Carmona to get into the box, passed to his left for Ulises Davila to slam the ball at the goalkeeper. Daniel got to the rebound first and slotted it home.
The visiting side refused to sit back after taking the two-goal lead. Davila, who led the line well throughout the game, missed two chances to score as the second-half moved to a close.
Things turned from bad to worse for the hosts as Marcelinho picked up a second yellow card and was sent off in the 90th minute. The forward caught Dorronsoro as he tried to latch onto a ball in behind the defence and raised his elbow against Marti Crespi as the defender confronted the striker over his poor challenge.
