Lallianzuala Chhangte struck a blow for young Indians in the Indian Super League here on Wednesday. The Delhi Dynamos forward first set up the opening goal for his Brazilian teammate Paulino and then netted the second to send the visitors to a 3-2 win over FC Pune City at the Balewadi stadium.
Dynamos’ third came via a stunning Matias Mirabaje strike before FCPC hit back through Emiliano Alfaro and Marcos Tebar to go down fighting.
Five goals sparked life into the second-half. FCPC’s fans were silenced when the 20-year-old Mizo made his presence felt. To begin with Chhangte sent in a cross from the left for Paulino to head home strongly. The DSK Shivajians-Liverpool FC Academy product then displayed pace and touch the next time he got the ball, bounded upfront and scored past the goalkeeper.
Later two Uruguayans swung into action. First up was Mirabaje for the visitors with the best goal of the night. He shifted the ball from his right foot to the left and then picked his spot in the net with a looping shot that left Kamaljit in goal helpless.
Now it was FCPC’s main striker Alfaro’s turn. He pulled one goal back for the home team, his left-footer bursting through defenders’ legs low to the corner. Tebar’s goal came in extended time.
Dynamos coach Miguel Portugal handed the captaincy to striker Kalu Uche. The Nigerian is a former FCPC player and is a familiar face at Balewadi.
The Pune coach, Ranko Popovic, meanwhile put Alfaro up front as sole striker, with Marcelino — last season’s leading scorer — close by to take advantage of a distracted defence.
Both sides hit the ground running, long balls were hit towards the goal and defenders launched into firm tackles. Dynamos’ goal came under pressure and custodian Albino dealt with a Tebar header with ease, diving sideways to grab the ball in the air.
After the initial flurry of attacks at both ends in the first half, probing passes were few as both teams concentrated on keeping possession. The visitors struck two minutes after resumption, setting the pace for a blistering second half.
The result: FC Pune City 2 (Emiliano Alfaro 67, Marcos Tebar 90+)lost to Delhi Dynamos FC 3 (Paulino Dias 46, Lallianzuala Chhangte 54, Matias Mirabaje 64).
