- Odisha FC – 1 (Isak Ralte 51’)
- Punjab FC – 1(Giakoumakis 45+2)
Bhubaneshwar, February 10, 2025: Punjab FC were held by ten men Odisha 1-1 as both teams shared spoils in the Indian Super League fixture which was played here at the Kalinga Stadium. Petros Giakoumakis gave the lead for Punjab in first half injury time, after the home side were reduced to ten men but Isak Ralte equalised in the second half. Punjab FC remained in ninth position with 24 points from 19 games while Odisha FC also remained in seventh with 26 points from 20 matches.
Punjab FC Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 formation, making three changes to the starting line up with Suresh Meitei, Nikhil Prabhu and Filip Mrzljak coming in place of Melroy Assisi, Pramveer Singh and Ashis Pradhan. Petros Giakoumakis kept his place from the start while Luka Majcen and Asmir Suljic were named on the bench. Odisha FC Head Coach Sergio Lobera missed the services of Ahmed Jahouh and Mourtada Fall as Carlos Delgado started in the heart of the defence while Diego Mauricio led the attack line along with Hugo Boumous, Rahul K.P and Isak Ralte.
The Punjab midfield and forward line pressed high up the pitch, forcing Odisha FC to make errors in their own half. The high energy play in the first thirty minutes caught Odisha off guard, and were looking the most likely to score and Giakoumakis did find the net, but it was ruled out for off side. The Shers defence did not give any space for the Odisha attack line to play through as they were forced to retrieve to their own half to protect the ball. The Juggernauts goalkeeper Amrinder Singh was called into action for the most part while Ravi Kumar at the other end did not have much to do, underlining the pressure the away side put on Odisha.
The game took a turn of events just before half time when Rahul K.P was given the marching orders for a rash tackle on Filip Mrzljak. The Shers took advantage of their numerical advantage just minutes later. Mrzljak flick pass found Ricky Shabong in the edge of the box who in turn found Giakoumakis with a wonderful reverse pass. The Greek forward opened his body and found the top corner past Amrinder Singh without any mistake for his first goal in the ISL and gave the lead for his team.
Punjab FC started the second half at a frantic pace with Muhammad Suhail running riot down the left wing creating all sorts of troubles for the Odisha defence. Filip Mrzljak forced a diving save from Amrinder Singh while the goalkeeper stood solid to the other attempts of Punjab also. But for the attacking moves of The Shers, it was the Juggernauts who equalised seven minutes into the start of the second half. Diego Mauricio controlled a header from Isak Ralte and returned the ball to the winger who sprinted into the box and unleashed a left footer. Ravi Kumar could not keep the shot under control as the ball trickled into the net through the hands of the keeper.
Punjab continued to push ahead for the winner, but the final output was elusive inside the Odisha box, with the Odisha defence also showing heart and holding their own. Mrzljak, Ricky and Majcen all of them came close to scoring with the former’s effort also hitting the crossbar and the rebound effort from Luka was blocked by Rahim Ali. On the other end, Ravi Kumar pulled off a last ditch save to keep Boumous from scoring.
In the end, despite all the efforts of the Punjab FC attacking prowess, the Shers could not find the winner as Odisha FC stood firm to share the points.
Punjab FC will travel to Chennai to face Chennaiyin FC in their next fixture on 15th February which will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, their third away game on the trot.
