FC Pune City beat FC Goa 2-0 to register first ISL win

Pune, Oct 26 (IANS) FC Pune City registered their first win of the Indian Super League (ISL) by beating FC Goa 2-0 in a group match at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium here Sunday.

For the winning team, foreigners Kostas Katsouranis and David Trezeguet scored on either side of halftime to confirm victory after leading 1-0 at halftime.

The win helped the home team, winless and bottom-placed in the standings after their first two matches with just a point to their name, rise to the fifth spot with four points from three matches.

Their opponents, FC Goa, with their third loss in four matches, nosedived to the bottom of the points table having only a point to their name.

Having experienced a poor start to their ISL campaign, both teams were desperate for a win and went into the offensive from the very start of the match.

And it was the home team that threatened to take the lead as early as the second minute, with team icon Frenchman Trezeguet unleashing a venomous right footer that was saved by goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani for a corner.

The visitors also had their moments, managing to move menacingly in their opponents' goal area. But without marquee player Frenchman Robert Pires - banned for two matches for indiscipline - they lacked the cutting edge to convert chances into goals.

Brazilian Andre Santos was the liveliest Goa player on the pitch, but for all his athleticism, couldn't muster the much-needed composure to score, his efforts all being wayward.

And they were punished for being profligate in the 42nd minute, when Greek Katsouranis scored from a powerful right-footed volley after being fed by defender Daniele Magliocchetti following a corner.

Goa simply had to score early in the second half to entertain any hopes of their first victory but their efforts bore no fruit as they were twice denied by the frame of goal.

It was again Santos who was at the thick of things but he was terribly unlucky as, first, his left footed fierce drive hit the cross bar on 66 minutes and then his grounded shot comes off the right post, with the goalkeeper beaten comprehensively on both occasions.

And similar to the first session Pune made them pay dearly. Trezeguet made the most of a botched up back pass from defender Gregory Arnolin to slot home from close range to score his first goal of the inaugural tournament and complete Goa's misery.