Pune: Striker Mandjou Keita`s double strike in the second half helped Pune FC beat Bangalore`s Hindustan Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) 3-1 win in an eighth round I-League match on Sunday .
Keita scored in the 64th and 76th minutes respectively after setting up Subash Singh with a 40th minute equaliser to help Pune FC stage a comeback win over the Bangalore side at the Balewadi Sports Complex.
But it was HAL who scored first in the match when striker Jagaba Hamza netted home in the 19th minute.
The win was Pune FC`s third at home and second in a row and swelled their tally to 11 points. The Pune outfit is now seventh in the lague standings with one match left in the round.
The host`s began the game playing Subash Singh in place of Jeje Lalpekhlua, Arata Izumi (for Douhou Pierrie) and Shanmugam Venkatesh (for Baldeep Singh).
HAL took the lead in the 19th minute through Hamza who scored past from a melee inside the box past the rival goalkeeper Abhra Mondal.
But Pune equalised five minutes from half time. A long clearance off a HAL flag-kick from the Pune FC box found Keita a yard into his his own half leading him to cut loose on solo on the left wing.
With defenders Chandandeep Singh and Liliyan Kenneth to deal with, Keita turned back, released a square ball to an advancing Subash Singh who finished with his second touch from six yards below the diving HAL custodian P Pramod.
After sharing honours at the breathere, Pune FC came back as a stronger and more dominant side in the second half.
Pune`s hardwork paid off four minutes past the hour mark when an unmarked Keita headed home from Subash`s chip.
Keita scored his second goal of the match 12 minutes later with a stinging half volley that beat HAL keeper Mondal all ends up.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011, 22:22