Pune FC overpowered Deccan XI and won their quarterfinal match 2-0 in the Late Shree Surendra Anand football tournament being played at the CAFVD ground here on Tuesday.
The city’s only professional club dominated proceedings right from the onset. The Deccan team was no match for the crisp passing game of the opposition. They put the Deccan goal under constant attack and in the tenth minute took the lead through Gobin Sevaram. Their midfielder started the move with a good pass to the overlapping right back,Chika Wali,who in turn whipped in a low cross and Gobin headed it in with ease. This goal eased the nerves of the players and they started to play even more of a free-flowing game. They had a host of chances to extend their lead before halftime but missed all of them.
With a few minutes left for halftime,Deccan had a golden opportunity to equalise when a defensive error on the part of the right back put winger,Shree Jagtap in on goal. However,his shot hit the post. The half ended 1-0.
It was more of the same from Pune FC in the second half as they kept on piling on the pressure. Gobin scored his second of the game in the 53rd minute off a corner. Pune FC were in the driver’s seat at this stage and were in total control of proceedings. They rattled the post on many occasions but did not manage to score. The referee put an end to the misery of the Deccan XI players by blowing his final whistle. The match ended 2-0.
In the other quarterfinal,Zubir Ahmed scored two back-to-back solo goals to help his team J&K Police defeat CMS Falcons 2-0.
Results (Quarterfinals): Pune FC: 2 (Gobin Sevaram 2) bt Deccan XI: 0; Jammu Kashmir Police: 2 (Zubir Ahmed 73 & 79 min) bt CMS Falcon: 0. Today’s fixture (Quarterfinal) 1) CRPF,Jullundar vs Mischief Makers,Pune- 1:30 pm; Bank of India Mumbai vs City Club,Pune. – 3.30 pm.