Rana Gharami’s strike would be the talk of the town for some time. His 35-yard screamer left FC Pune City in a trance and Delhi Dynamos’ celebrating the moment in the opening match for both teams in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.
For Gharami, who left a lasting impact on the contest, it was his ISL debut.
Set to pocket full points, Dynamos paid the penalty for complacency in defence as FC Pune substitute Diego Carlos found the target in the 88th minute off a return ball from Emiliano Alfaro. The 1-1 result will hurt Dynamos as it dominated the match.
In terms of intensity, there was not much on offer. Midfield skirmishes and desperate attempts only reflected the lack of ideas in both camps. Pune’s overdependence on Alfaro was evident right through. Delhi, however, had quite a few players to share the responsibility, like Gharami.
Dropping guard
The opposition hardly paid any attention to Gharami, not even when he held possession and threatened to expose the Pune defence. Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith dropped guard momentarily and instantly came to grief. Unable to find a teammate in a position of advantage, Gharami himself decided to test the Pune goalkeeper. To his surprise, Gharami found Kaith out of position, just watching the ball sail over him and into the corner of the net.
The goal, coming at the stroke of half-time, reflected Dynamos’ superior ball possession.
Pune wasn’t a mere spectator either. It had its moments, mainly through the hard work of Ashique Kuruniyan on the left wing with Alfaro keeping pace. However, a goal did not materialise. Adil Khan moved up in support without success, though.
For Dynamos, Andrija Kaludjerovi failed to connect the ball on a few occasions while Lallianzuala Chhangte indulged in some poor shooting. On other occasions, Kaith foiled threatening moves by the Dynamos strikers. Towards the end, an instinctive save by goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro helped Dynamos, but not for long.
The result: Delhi Dynamos 1 (Rana Gharami 45) drew with Pune City 1 (Diego Carlos 88).
