PUNE, Nov 03: Pune FC have a lot at stake when they take on Churchill Brothers in a Round IV match of the I-League, on Sunday (November 4), after losing their first away match of the season against East Bengal last weekend by a narrowest possible margin.
Both Pune FC and Churchill Brothers have equal number of wins this season, but the home side has been scrappy in their two wins. Churchill Brothers, on the other hand, began with a loss to the title holders Dempo SC, but since then have been in impressive form.
Though Churchill and Pune FC have six points each from three matches, the Goan side are on the fifth spot, one above their host, by virtue of their better goal difference. A win on Sunday at the Balewadi Sports Complex stadium will take the winner closer to the top.
Derrick Pereira has been innovative, but Pune FC are yet to get their midfield in order which heavily depends of Douhou Pierre. Upfront, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Chika Wali, Shanmugham Venkatesh and Subhash Singh have done well, but the Pune strikers are yet to pose a potent threat for the opposition.
Pereira, who benched Daisuke Nishiguchi and put James Moga to partner Jeje Lalpekhlua against East Bengal, will have to reassess team composition given that Moga has just recovered from malaria.
Izumi Arata returned to the starting XI in place of Khanthang Paite who was ruled out of the fixture for Pune FC as he joined them on loan from East Bengal. But now Pereira has a problem of plenty.
No doubt Pune FC played better than East Bengal at the start, but the host took grip over the match as the game wore on. This is something Pune FC will have to avoid— it’s been a regular feature at home matches too. But they have been lucky to scrape through, first against ONGC and then Mumbai FC.
Chika Wali was unimpressive forcing Pereira to replace him with Daisuke Nishiguchi early in the second half, and though Jeje and Douhou came close to scoring with the Japanese’s efforts, they were sheer unlucky not to have put it past the goalkeeper.
The way Subhash Singh played at Balewadi, it would be interesting to see he gets to take the field as Karma Tsewang is also vying for the same spot.
Churchill have a lively side with Subhash Bhowmick marshalling his resources well after the season opening loss to Dempo.
Having done well against Mumbai, Churchill Brothers’ striker Akram Moghrabi should make a start ahead of Henri Antchouet.
Between the two, Pune FC has 3-2 lead over Churchill in the last five matches. The honours were shared in the last season when Pune FC won the away match in December, but Churchill shot back on Pune FC home ground with a 2-0 win and that is something home team should be careful about.
The kick-off is at 5.30pm.
Both Pune FC and Churchill Brothers have equal number of wins this season, but the home side has been scrappy in their two wins. Churchill Brothers, on the other hand, began with a loss to the title holders Dempo SC, but since then have been in impressive form.
Though Churchill and Pune FC have six points each from three matches, the Goan side are on the fifth spot, one above their host, by virtue of their better goal difference. A win on Sunday at the Balewadi Sports Complex stadium will take the winner closer to the top.
Derrick Pereira has been innovative, but Pune FC are yet to get their midfield in order which heavily depends of Douhou Pierre. Upfront, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Chika Wali, Shanmugham Venkatesh and Subhash Singh have done well, but the Pune strikers are yet to pose a potent threat for the opposition.
Pereira, who benched Daisuke Nishiguchi and put James Moga to partner Jeje Lalpekhlua against East Bengal, will have to reassess team composition given that Moga has just recovered from malaria.
Izumi Arata returned to the starting XI in place of Khanthang Paite who was ruled out of the fixture for Pune FC as he joined them on loan from East Bengal. But now Pereira has a problem of plenty.
No doubt Pune FC played better than East Bengal at the start, but the host took grip over the match as the game wore on. This is something Pune FC will have to avoid— it’s been a regular feature at home matches too. But they have been lucky to scrape through, first against ONGC and then Mumbai FC.
Chika Wali was unimpressive forcing Pereira to replace him with Daisuke Nishiguchi early in the second half, and though Jeje and Douhou came close to scoring with the Japanese’s efforts, they were sheer unlucky not to have put it past the goalkeeper.
The way Subhash Singh played at Balewadi, it would be interesting to see he gets to take the field as Karma Tsewang is also vying for the same spot.
Churchill have a lively side with Subhash Bhowmick marshalling his resources well after the season opening loss to Dempo.
Having done well against Mumbai, Churchill Brothers’ striker Akram Moghrabi should make a start ahead of Henri Antchouet.
Between the two, Pune FC has 3-2 lead over Churchill in the last five matches. The honours were shared in the last season when Pune FC won the away match in December, but Churchill shot back on Pune FC home ground with a 2-0 win and that is something home team should be careful about.
The kick-off is at 5.30pm.
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