ISL: Bouli’s brace helps Punjab edge Odisha

Raphael Messi Bouli enjoyed a dream debut for Punjab FC in the Indian Super League on Wednesday, giving his new club a 2-1 win over Odisha FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The 34-year-old, who was a free agent after playing for Jamshedpur last season, remarkably scored in the first and final minute of the game.

All of 39 seconds in, the host opened the scoring through the striker from Cameroon.

With Muhammad Uvais sending in a lovely cross from the left — the pass was perfectly weighted along the turf to carve open the Odisha defence — Bouli had to simply tap the ball into the back of the net.

Punjab had a few other half-chances in the opening exchanges, but Odisha found its footing thereafter. The visitor’s equaliser came in the 15th minute. Having been awarded a corner, Lalthathanga Khawlhring exhibited his set-piece prowess by finding an unmarked Thoiba Singh Moirangthem. The 23-year-old from Manipur headed the ball powerfully past Punjab goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh.

Punjab gained the upper hand after the interval. In the 56th minute, Muhammad Suhail did extremely well to run into space on the left flank and cross with the outside of his right boot. The pass picked out Alfred Moya, but the Spaniard’s first-time shot sailed well over the crossbar.

Just as the contest seemed set to end in a stalemate, Bouli pounced on a cross from substitute Bishu Sharma on the right wing to seal the deal in the dying seconds of stoppage time.

The result: Punjab FC 2 (Raphael Messi Bouli 1, 90+5) bt Odisha FC 1 (Thoiba Singh Moirangthem 15).