Journalism of Courage
The strong gale across the Tau Devi Lal Stadium had already shown its bearing on the football during the I-league division II qualifiers. In the main-round opener,however,having played here earlier didnt prove to be an advantage for Pune FC as they lost 2-0 to ONGC on Tuesday.
In contrast,ONGCs Jatin Bisht was quick to adjust to the wind and put his team ahead in the 62nd minute. The free-kick from 18 yards deflected fractionally before dipping to beat Pune FC goalkeeper Balaji Narsimhan.
Mangut Mbwas doubled the score in the 93rd minute. On a counter-attack,Mangut had sprinted ahead of his team mates and rival defenders to make it a one-on-one with a long distance to traverse. He didnt get into the box and gave the ball a half-shot as it appeared like a lob that dipped right into the net.
Their opponents,on the other hand,were overdependant on Shanmugan Venkatesh and Godson Odinaka. And the old legs almost got them back in the match. A Venkatesh strike was disposed by Rajat Ghosh Dastidar,the former India goalkeeper. This was Pune FCs best shot at scoring,despite the numerous moves in the last 10 minutes.
