Delhi Dynamos Football Club wrapped up their pre-season preparation ahead of the third edition of the Indian Super League, with a thumping 3-2 victory over Swedish club Assyriska BK at the Ruddalens IP in Sweden.
With goals coming from their marquee player Florent Malouda, Kean Lewis and Arjun Tudu in their final game, the Delhi-based ISL club remained undefeated with a draw and a couple of wins in Sweden.
The match kicked-off with Delhi Dynamos F.C. on the prowl while the host tried hard to defend. For a substantial part of the first half the visitors dominated possession as well as the game making proceedings difficult for the host. They also came close to opening the scoring on couple of occasions, but some real good work by the Assyriska's defenders kept the away side at bay.
The Delhi side drew the first blood just six minutes past the half hour mark, when they finally broke the deadlock after they were fouled just outside the box. Marcelo stepped up to take the resultant free-kick and his inch perfect delivery found skipper Malouda at the far post, who made no mistake and guided the ball into the back of the net with a brilliant header.
They, however, could not hold on to the lead for long and a superb strike from Ahrun Cicek from the edge of the box saw Assyriska restore parity in the 43rd minute.
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After the change of ends, the away side started strongly again and were on the attack as soon as the whistle blew. And just eight minutes into the half time, it was Delhi Dynamos F.C.'s hitman Kean Lewis who rose to the occasion and scored with a superb solo effort from the right.
With a 2-1 advantage, the visitors were now controlling the game from the midfield and were dominating the possession leaving the home side wanting. They had no answer for the hard pressing game of Delhi Dynamos F.C. and once again succumbed to them in 84th minute when Arjun Tudu scored the third goal of the evening for the away side with a solid header. A brilliant counter by the home side saw netting the 5th and their second goal of the game by Mihael Jevtic. Delhi Dynamos F.C. thereafter hung on to their lead, avoiding a late scare to win their second consecutive match on foreign soil.
"It's been a great pre-season for us with some outstanding performance from the boys. While we lost to West Bromwich Albion F.C. earlier in the UK, but we showcased our hunger and vigor to excel with a draw and two back to back wins in Sweden. I would like to take this opportunity to thank University of Wolverhampton, West Bromwich Albion, BK Hacken, Skene IF and Assyriska BK for their hospitality, training facilities and helping us out with top class match practice before we embark on our journey for third edition of the Hero ISL," said Prashant Agarwal, President, Delhi Dynamos FC.
Jubilant with the team's performance, Gianluca Zambrotta, Head Coach, Delhi Dynamos FC said,"It's been a satisfying outing for us, and I am happy that the team is gelling in well and the communication on and off the field is strong. The results of this was seen in our match today where all the boys linked in well to ensure we were ahead of them throughout the game. I am glad we are set to begin our season back home in the Hero ISL on a high. Like I have said before, the only goal for Delhi Dynamos FC this season would be to bring home the winner's trophy."
The match also marked the culmination of Delhi Dynamos F.C.'s pre-season campaign during which they toured the U.K. and Sweden.The Lions will now return to India and will resume their practice in New Delhi till the ISL season gets underway.
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