Dynamos jump to 2nd after 3-1 win over Pune

Propped up by goals from Adil Nabi and Enas Edathodia and John Arne Riise, Delhi Dynamos broke their winless run at home and closed in on a semifinal berth with a convincing 3-1 victory over Pune City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Thursday.

Nabi scored the opening goal in the 35th minute while Edathodia found the net within a span of five minutes, heading one in on the 40th minute to give the hosts a comfortable cushion at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Riise added to Pune City FC s agony with another strike in the 87th minute, successfully converting a penalty that was awarded to the hosts after Zodingliana Tochhawng was felled by visiting player Govin Singh.

Romanian marquee player Adrian Mutu lived upto the tag, scoring a consolation goal (90+5) in the added time from a beautiful freekick.

The win, a much-needed one, takes the Dynamos to second place with 18 points from 10 games, while Pune City FC held on to their fourth place despite the reverse. Frustrated with the run of three draws in front of their home crowd, the Dynamos showed intent straightaway. The defence, led by the ever-reliable Riise, and skipper Anderson Sebastiao de Souza, did not let the likes of Adrian Mutu and Kalu Uche to penetrate. Former French international Florent Malouda marshalled the midfield the way he is normally expected to, often providing the passes to the men upfront and took the two corner shots that led to the goals. Malouda was well supported by Vinicius Ferreira de Souza, Souvik Chakraborty and Seminlen Doungel in the middle of the park.