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Khanthang Paite rose from the bench to score two-second half goals as Pune FC scored a 2-0 victory over Salgaocar Football Club in a 10th round clash of the I-League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Sunday.
Paite was a second-half substitute for Subhash Singh and the striker did exactly what his coach Derrick Pereira had told him with a brace of goals in the 64th and 78th minute.
The win took Pune FC to the fourth spot while Salgaocar coach David Booth was left searching for his first win since taking charge of the former I-League champions.
Pune FC started with plenty of promise with South Sudan striker James Moga posing a threat at the start. The tall striker had the first look at the rival goal but his seventh minute header off Othallo Tabia’s missed the target by a whisker.
Moga was at the centre of the action again for Pune FC as his tantalising cross was close to goal but nobody was on hand to head home.
In the second session, Salgaocar came close but Milagres Gonsalves, handed a rare start, should have scored when he was set-up by Brian Mascarenhas. Instead, Milagres saw his shot go wide.
Pune FC broke the deadlock in the 64th minute as Paite gave finishing touches to Moga’s cross minutes after he had taken the field for Subhash Singh.
It was 2-0 in favour of the visitors in the 78th minute when a move initiated by Pierre saw Tsewang’s cross find Paite in the box who nodded his second goal of the evening to confirm full points for the visitors.
James Moga could have made it 3-0 for Pune FC but the South Sudan striker blasted his right-footer wide from inside the Salgaocar box after being set-up by the excellent Douhou Pierre.