ISL 2015: Not just controlled but mighty entertaining, Pune City revel in derby win over Mumbai

Pune: Before the start of the Indian Super League, new FC Pune City manager David Platt talked about his desire to instill his philosophy into the Indian players as soon as possible. On Monday night in their first match of the season, every bit of that philosophy was on show. Pune were troubled in the first half, but responded to a tactical change with verve, tenacity and brand of passing football that was incredibly pleasing to watch as they dismantled Maharashtra rivals Mumbai City FC 3-1 at Balewadi. If the first two encounters of the second season of the ISL were rife with the nerves of adjusting players and glaring errors which led to soft goals, then both Pune and Mumbai put on a brilliant tactical battle, with both teams pressing, passing and engineering spaces on the flanks. In fact, Mumbai looked so assured in the first 45 minutes that Platt said his side were ‘fortunate’ not to trail at half time. [caption id=“attachment_2456792” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  FC Pune City player Tuncay Sanli celebrates his goal against and Mumbai City FC. Sportzpics[/caption] The former Manchester City assistant manager then made the bold decision of removing James Bailey, Pune’s best player in the first half, and replaced him for Yendrick Ruiz, which moved two-goal hero Tuncay Sanli to midfield. From then on, it was all about controlling play and the players responded immediately. “Pune were smart, moving it around with one or two touch passes in the second half and causing us movement issues and problems on the left,” Oscar Bruzon, Mumbai City assistant coach, said after the match. “They introduced one tactical change: Tuncay to midfield and Ruiz up front. Then came the overlaps from fullbacks. David (Platt) made the change and beat us.” Firstpost asked Platt whether Bruzon had read his changes correctly. “Yes, in fact he did,” Platt said. “We put pressure on them higher on the pitch and the point was to make them play quicker and allow them less time on the ball. We had to stop their center backs from walking up the pitch so easily and wanted to control play. Tuncay in midfield helps in getting the balls and dominate possession which we didn’t in the first half.” Platt stressed on controlling the game multiple times in the post-match press conference – a term which followers of the game hear week in week out coming from top managers like Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho in the Premier League. Control however, can also mean mechanical robotic football, which isn’t very entertaining. We asked him if he would sacrifice pleasing football for more control or would we continue to see Pune play in a fluid 4-2-3-1 with swift interchanges that saw the fullbacks pour forward with the trusted Lenny Rodrigues and Ivorian star Didier Zokora covering in defensive midfield. “We want to control the game, but of course there’s no use controlling the game if we don’t score and it’s not entertaining. We want to take the game to the opposition like we did when we were far higher up in the second half,” Platt said. It was not just about the attack though. Diego Colotto and Gouramangi Singh looked unbeatable at the back. Colotto made a nonchalant flicked clearance off the line and executed a perfect sliding tackle on a twisting-turning Nicolas Anelka inside the box. Gouramangi was blocking everything that came from outside the box, with exemplary bravery to protect his keeper. Platt said he was pleased with the defending even when Pune did not have the ball. There’s no reason to not expect more of the same from Pune. Platt, as Bruzon said, is very smart and has a team which is a huge upgrade to last season: “Pune certainly seem stronger (than last season) and will fight for the top four.” Platt does not want to dwell on Monday night’s victory. In fact, he’s already thinking about what he wants to do in the next fixture against NorthEast United on 9 October. “We want to control the game more. It’s food for thought for me and we will have a think about what we can improve. For me, you have to dominate possession. We don’t have time to dwell on this win. The players can enjoy, feel good, rest but we are 72 hours away from the next game and need to get back to work. At least tomorrow morning we’ll put our boots on with smiles.”