Pune FC fought hard but went down fighting 2-3 to East Bengal Club in an I-League Round 16 encounter at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi on Saturday.

In a game of equal exchanges, Ranti Martins (19th minute) put East Bengal in the lead before Mathew Gonsalves (38th) pulled Pune FC level going into the breather.

Two quickfire goals from Harmanjot Khabra (48th) and Dudu Omagbemi (55th) gave the visitors a two goal lead at the start of the second half before Darko Nikac (65th) pulled one back for Pune FC.

The loss was a first at home this season for Pune FC as their seven match unbeaten home run came to an end. Having dropped points, Pune FC stayed in the 4th position with 20 points while East Bengal moved up to 19 points but stay 5th.

Going into the game, Pune FC Coach Karim Bencherifa made just one change to the starting lineup with Lalramluaha Hmar replacing Mumtaz Akhtar in eleven.

After some half chances at either end, Pune FC went close through Lalramluaha in the 12th minute. But the midfielder’s effort from range on the second ball of Lalrempuia Fanai’s blocked freekick went wide.

Despite Pune FC putting pressure up front, a defensive lapse at the back allowed the visitors to take the lead minutes past the quarter hour mark. Leo Bertos got clear on the left and with a neat cross found an unmarked Ranti inside the box who volleyed home at the far post.

At the other end, Pune FC attacked through Raju Yumnam, Darko and Thongkhosiem Haokip but the rival defense stayed firm holding off all attacks.

Having put a lot of pressure on the East Bengal goal, Pune FC finally pulled level in the 38th minute. Right-back Mathew chased down a long ball played on the right flank and as he neared the goalline, he crossed the ball goalwards with a last ditch effort. The ball swerved in the air and beat keeper Abhijit Mondal who tried to palm it over the crossbar and ended in the goal.

The first half ended with both sides tied at 1-1.

Having equalised minutes before the half time, Pune FC were confident of the chances as they came out in the second half. However, the visitors scored twice within seven minutes to take the game away from Pune FC.

First it was Khabra who capitalised on Pune FC’s failure to clear the ball inside the box, slotting home from close in the 48th minute. Then it was Dudu who too finished from close range on the left to put East Bengal 3-1 up in the 58th minute.

Having suffered back-to-back setbacks, Pune FC didn’t give up and continued to push up. Their persistence finally paid off as they pulled one back ten minutes later.

Darko placed himself accurately to intercept a pass from East Bengal keeper Mondal just outside the box. As Mondal came out to block Darko, the Montenegrin beat him with a neat touch to slide the ball home for his fourth goal of the season.

Having reduced the margin, Pune FC were all fired up as they pushed further up in search of the equaliser. However, they failed to find the elusive goal falling short in the final third as East Bengal held on for a narrow win.