ISL 2018-19: 3 reasons why Delhi Dynamos FC drew with FC Pune City

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Andrija Kaludjerovic (centre) disappointed in his maiden outing for Delhi Dynamos [Credits: ISL]

Delhi Dynamos failed to get an ideal start in the Indian Super League season 5 as they were held 1-1 against FC Pune City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. Debutant Rana Gharami scored a screamer just before the half-time to put the home side ahead. However, substitute Diego Carlos restored parity just before the final whistle to bring home one point.

Delhi, who finished eighth last season, started the game with a positive attitude and created a few chances. They somehow failed to score until Rana came from nowhere to score with a thunderous strike, which could be an early goal of the season contender. Pune, last year’s semi-finalists, missed star player Marcelinho and Iain Hume badly.

Let’s look at three reasons why this game ended in a stalemate:

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#1 Gombau’s wrong team selection

Immediately after taking charge of the team, Spanish coach Josep Gombau Balague directly involved himself with the most of the recruitments. He tried to focus more on Indian players in order to unearth talents. Under his insistence, Dynamos signed the likes of Narayan Das, Bikramjit Singh, Shubham Sarangi and Lallianzulala Chhangte. But it seems there’s one area he didn’t look into i.e. strikers.

Dynamos released Kalu Uche, their most prolific striker, who was later signed by ATK. Uche scored 13 goals in only 15 games last season. Rather, they hired former Wellington Phoenix striker Andrija Kaludjerovic. After the first game, it’s certain that Kaludjerovic is not a right replacement for Uche. As the other two forwards in Dynamos’ squad are Indians and inexperienced at this level, Delhi will surely have a tough time in the future. 

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