Madih Talal scored the most important goal in Punjab FC’s history as his half-time strike helped the debutants to register their first-ever win in the Indian Premier League. Punjab FC displayed their quality throughout 90 minutes to outclass two-time ISL champions Chennaiyin FC in a 1-0 win.
The hosts dominated Owen Coyle’s men in every department be it possession (54-46), shots (14-4) or number of passes (419-35). Punjab showed everyone on the pitch that they are new in the league but surely not the minnows in the league.
Meanwhile, It was another Punjab FC match where they failed to attract the fans at their home stadium Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. Punjab’s unwanted no-win record before this match was one of the big reasons behind that which is expected to change after Monday’s historic result.
They came close to achieving the three points from a game in the past too but it was their most clinical performance where they completely dominated an ISL giant. The Punjab players also acknowledged the fans who came in support of them despite their winless record before the match. They chatted and graciously clicked photos with the fans after the historic result.
In the first half, Punjab got an early free kick in the 6th minute of the game, they missed the chance to score an early goal but it was followed by some good attacking football from them. They looked lethal in the ball recovery and the wingers also made some good in-behind runs to trouble the Chennaiyin defence which remained rock solid in the first half.
The visitors also had a golden opportunity to score but their number 10 Connor Jon Shields missed a sitter in the 14th minute.
Talal was constantly causing problems for Chennaiyin in the first half as he also attempted an overhead kick which was hit on the bar. It was the moment which made fans cheer their heart out for the home side.
However, he broke the shackles in the second half and took a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner – which etched his name in the history of the club. It was a clinical pass from Khaiminthang Lhungdim which allowed Talal to get past the goalkeeper in the 56th minute.
Punjab’s manager Staikos Vergetis expressed his disappointment after their last match result where they lost a close match to Kerala Blasters. The Greek manager was not impressed with his team’s intensity last week but on Monday his players don’t give him much to complain about.
The defenders gave their all to track back whenever there was any counter-attack as the Chennaiyin forwards failed to breach the strong wall.
Wilmar Jordan Gill who came in as a substitute in the second half was the only concerning factor for Punjab as he missed three chances in front of goal.
Meanwhile, the match also had a dramatic moment in the fag end as Vincy Barretto’s late goal in injury time was cancelled by the referee as he pushed the goalkeeper in his attempt to take the header. Barretto had a word with the referee after the call and also received a yellow card for his dissent.
Punjab’s backline held their nerves in the final minutes and remained rock-solid to stop Chennaiyin forwards from scoring any late goal.
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