Equaliser comes 7 minutes from victory

The first chance of the game came soon after the kick-off,when PFC midfielder Douhou found Izumi Arata in front of goal with a delicate chip over the Salgaocar defence,but the Japanese-origin striker failed to convert. The next few minutes yielded no real action other than a couple of half-chances from either side. Nigerian Chika Wali was rock solid in the Pune defensive line,not allowing anyone to get past him.

Both teams had several opportunities to score,with Figueira and Jeje Lalpekhlua of PFC having their efforts thwarted,while Melvyn Rodrigues fired across the goal for the Goa side.

The breakthrough finally came PFC’s way in the 43rd minute,as Lalpekhlua again threaded a through-ball down to the left flank,and Uzbek defender Sergey Tokov floated in a measured cross,finding the unmarked Arata who made no mistake in finding the net with a commanding header. The home side went into the second half leading 1-0. After the break,PFC started on a bright note,with several good chances and near-misses. Chaubey was a key performer in the Salgaocar goal. He palmed away Douhou’s effort from the right,when the Ivory Coast midfielder found space on the right and launched a solid shot.

It looked like the home team were heading towards a hard-fought victory,when substitute Ekene grabbed an equaliser out of nowehere for Salgaocar in the 83 rd minute. The Nigerian winger capped off a counterattack from the away side with a low right-footed shot from 30 yards out past the outstretched arms of Subrata Paul,and the India keeper could only watch helplessly as the ball bounced into the net off his right-side goalpost. There were still a couple of tense moments for Salgaocar in stoppage time,as Douhou launched a scorching shot just wide,and Figueira’s bicycle kick also narrowly missed the goal. Both teams left with a point each to maintain their current spot in the I-League standings.