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A gritty Jamshedpur FC edged past Punjab FC 2-1 in New Delhi, to move to third spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) standings on Tuesday.
The Men of Steel now have 31 points from 17 games, courtesy of 10 wins and a draw, trailing second-placed FC Goa (33) by just two points.
Jamshedpur FC broke the deadlock through Pratik Chaudhuri's header in the 41st minute and later Javi Hernandez doubled the lead early in the second half.
Punjab FC tried their level best to salvage something from the game but Ezequiel Vidal's goal in the 58th minute was the only consolation. With this defeat, Punjab FC are now winless in seven consecutive games this season.
The hosts started the game proactively as they pegged back Jamshedpur FC's backline with a flurry of attacks. The visitors searched for opportunities on the counter-attacks.
Jamshedpur FC made inroads through Javier Siverio and Mohammed Sanan. The Men of Steel were heavily dependant on their left channel, and despite some trouble, Punjab FC's defence did enough to keep them at bay.
However, Ricky Shabong had the opportunity to break the deadlock in the 21st minute when he combined with Suljic as he forced a save out of Albino Gomes under the bar.
Punjab FC kept piling up the pressure on the Jamshedpur FC backline with Suljic orchestrating most of the moves.
The game turned in the 41st minute when Jamshedpur FC took the lead courtesy of a goal from Pratik Chaudhuri. The defender rose the highest in the box from Rei Tachikawa's corner and hammered it home past Muheet Shabir to put Jamshedpur FC in the lead against the run of play.
Panagiotis Dilmperis turned to Ezequiel Vidal at the start of the second half as Filip Mrzljak made way for him. However, things only got complicated for the hosts when Muheet's clearance cannoned off Javi Hernandez and landed straight into the back of the net in the 48th minute.
It started with a back pass from Nikhil Prabhu towards Ivan Novoselec before the experienced defender played a loose ball back to Muheet. With Javi pressing, the goalkeeper was in a hurry to clear his lines and in the process the ball struck him and found its way into the net.
Punjab FC finally pulled one back in the 58th minute when Vidal rifled one from distance and left the entire Jamshedpur FC backline, including Albino in goal, surprised. The Argentine swerved the ball past Pratik before nestling it into the bottom right corner.
Punjab FC will face Bengaluru FC next on February 1, while Jamshedpur FC will host FC Goa on February 2.