Dudu Omagbemi was happy to have been present at the right place and at the right time as his brace helped FC Pune City down Mumbai City FC 2-0 in Pune on Wednesday night to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs of the Hero Indian Super League. “We had three good games, then went down, and again performed well after coming home. I’m happy I was present at the right place and at the right time,” the 29-year-old Nigerian striker said at the post-match press conference.In this crunch match, Pune came out all guns blazing from the opening whistle and Dudu found himself in promising positions throughout the game. So what was the coach’s message before the kickoff? “Before the game, the coach had a chat with us on what to do, what he wanted. I did exactly that and I added my own way of playing. We got the result and I am happy,” Dudu revealed. Dudu was guilty of wasting a few opportunities in the first half before he scored a brace in the second, but said that the coach did not chide him or the team for its profligacy. “No, he did not say anything, except to keep on fighting. He said he knew we could win, so he asked us to just focus and keep our heads down, and we did exactly what he asked us to do,” the former Sporting Clube de Goa icon observed.Goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya, who also attended the press conference, added that today’s result was very important. “It’s always good that we get confidence, win matches,” he quipped. Asked about his save from the penalty spot that prevented Tiago Ribeiro from putting Mumbai City ahead, Arindam said, “It’s always good to make a save. It was just a guess (the direction of the save). If we had conceded at that moment, it would have been very difficult for us.”Asked to comment on the expulsion of Pune head coach Franco Colomba by the referee for entering the field of play to celebrate Dudu’s goals, Arindam replied, “It feels good when the coach joins in the players’ celebrations, and unfortunately, what happened after that was not good. But I must admit, it’s always special when the coach comes in to celebrate!”The Italian gaffer will not be available for Pune’s next game against Delhi Dynamos FC on December 6 as a result, so Dudu hoped Pune will put their heads down and continue their winning ways.
