ISL: Pune, NorthEast squander their chances in an entertaining draw

Guwahati: North East United FC (NEUFC) and FC Pune City (FPC) missed a lot of scoring opportunities as their Indian Super League match ended in goalless draw, here on Saturday.

The visitors got a wonderful opportunity during the 42nd minute but Nigerian striker MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi failed to push the ball inside the net even as only one NEUFC defender was behind him.

The home team too got a beautiful chance in 82nd minute after Zambia’s midfielder Kondwani Mtonga passed the ball to Spanish forward Sergio Contreras Pardo alias Koke but failed to convert it into goal despite absence of any defender of FPC.

The match started with an exciting note when FPC’s defender Pritam Kotal took a direct hit in the 6th minute on the opponent’s goal post but missed.

In the 18th and 21st minutes, the home side got two corner shots but could not convert them into goals. Midfielder Alen Deory and Spanish defender Joan Capdevila Mendez shot headers respectively but they missed the net.

In the 27th minute, NEUFC’s Koke created an opportunity for Mtonga but he could not push the ball inside the net. Referee Pranjal Banerjee showed two yellow cards to FPC’s Kostas Katsouranis and NEUFC’s defender Robin Gurung. There was also a physical commotion when the visiting team’s Daniele Magliocchetti pushed James Keene after the referee whistled to stop.