FC Pune City defeated Kerala Blasters 3-2 in match no. 22 of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.
It was a goal fest in Pune on Tuesday as the riveting clash between Kerala Blasters and FC Pune City produced five goals, four of which came in the first half-an-hour of the game.
It was indeed an important game for the Kerala Blasters as they had lost three matches in a row but now they have suffered defeats in four back-to-back games in ISL 2015, which have left them reeling at the bottom of the points table.
The game also saw Mohammed Rafi of the visiting team scoring the fastest goal of the ISL. But Peter Taylor's men in yellow could not hold on to their lead for long as they conceded soon after scoring the opening goal of the encounter.
"I am not sure today was tough luck. We have to be defending much better. The first two goals we conceded today were poor goals for us. Unless we stop doing that, we are not going to get any luck. And we've to work hard to deserve that luck. We've got to defend properly and work hard and to be fair the players are working hard but we are conceding very bad goals," Taylor told the reporters at the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
"We now have to put up a fantastic show ahead, it's as simple as that. It's a short season, there's only eight teams. If you could put together three good results, you're in a much better position. It just means we've to put a good run together."
Meanwhile, FC Pune City have propelled themselves to the top of the points table of the ISL 2015 after they registered their fourth win of the tournament. David Platt was a happy manager as he got the desired result after a thrilling encounter.
"I think the effort put in by both sets of players in the first half meant the second half was going to be subdued. I'm sure Peter [Taylor] spoke to his players and said not to play as end to end and that's what coaches want to do. I think we edged the second half and I am pleased we got the goal as well," Platt told the mediapersons on Tuesday after the match.
"I prefer to look at things on the whole. We've conceded two goals tonight and very often when you concede two goals, you don't win games. I wouldn't be too critical of my players, I think they've done magnificent today. We had 72 hours between games and travel back home yet we did well today, we didn't tire."
Watch the full highlights of the game between FC Pune City and Kerala Blasters here.
