To be fair we all thought we would just beat Ha Noi and then get killed by Muangthong but this... 3-0 loss at home to a club from Vietnam... that is ridiculous.
They did have some good players, specially foreigners. Sam Galligher is a former A-League player, Gonzalo Marronkle is a beast in Vietnam, and Hughtun Hector is a Trinidad international. They are also the reigning V. League champions but again, this is no excuse. Pune had the players to beat Ha Noi or at least lose gracefully 1-0.
You continue to talk shit. Pune does not have team even to compete in afc cup. Look at that Riga n Meyer. Such a waste of a foreign slot. Pune FC will finish last in their afc cup group.
How am I talking shit? We all thought here on IFN that we would win against Ha Noi, esspecially when Pune FC was the hosts and we also thought that if the unfortunete happened and we lost then we would only lose by maybe 1-0 or 2-1... 1 goal. However, what happened was that we lost, at home, by a score of 3-0.
Now, regardless of whether Pune were really deserving of being in the AFC Champions League to begin with is up for debate but they had a squad that should have won that match. A squad that included a guy who played a bit in the A-League just last season, a guy who was a regular in the Swedish 2nd Division, and a guy who has a history in top European leagues despite not playing for a few years.... and that is just the foreigners. In terms of Indians they have internationals like Gurjinder Kumar and Arata Izumi. They also had significant players like Anas, Gabriel, and D'Souza.
This squad had enough to at least contend with this team, to at least only lose by a goal but this was an implosion. Pune should have done a lot better in this match and Mike has a lot of work to do, specially when 2 of his 3 subs were youngsters.
To be very honest...anyone who thought Pune FC would beat Hanoi must be an optimistic gambler... PUNE struggled in Federation Cup and in I-league they have struggled to beat depleted teams like Rangdajied and Churchill in round 1...having to rely on fortuitous goals from Callum Angus. PFC will slip down the I-LEAGUE and finish 4th or 5th.
And at the same time they also had some great games like a 3-0 victory over a top Salgaocar side at the time or a 0-0 draw away to Lajong and in the process only giving away 14 goals.... most of which came towards the break.
Pune FC never won I-league or Federation Cup. Only a team who has won either of these two tournamnets should be eligible to compete in AFC Cup or qualification of AFC Champions League. This time they gave back door entry to Pune FC and result is in front of everybody. I doubt that Pune FC can pass the Group Stage of AFC Cup also. For 2015, no more Back door entry please.
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And for your info, gonzalo did not start.
PUNE struggled in Federation Cup and in I-league they have struggled to beat depleted teams like Rangdajied and Churchill in round 1...having to rely on fortuitous goals from Callum Angus.
PFC will slip down the I-LEAGUE and finish 4th or 5th.
This time they gave back door entry to Pune FC and result is in front of everybody. I doubt that Pune FC can pass the Group Stage of AFC Cup also.
For 2015, no more Back door entry please.