Kochi, Sep 15 (IANS): Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis, following his first game at the club, hailed Luka Majcen as a great example for the youngsters after the team got off to a winning start in the 2024/25 Indian Super League season against Kerala Blasters

Skipper Luka Majcen who started off the bench went off to score a goal in the penalty and assisted the winning goal is stoppage time

“Luka is the captain of this team and a leader. He’s a great player but I have to say more about his personality. He is an amazing person. He didn’t complain about being on the bench but he realised that I might start with (Mushaga) Bakenga. He’s a great example for the young players who sometimes keep their head down and feel angry or disappointed because you don’t start them or you don’t get them on the bench. We are really lucky to have him. He scored and it’s amazing.

Let’s hope that after the foul he received from the opponent, he will be ready for the next game,” he stated in the post-match press conference.

Both teams were not efficient in attack in the first half as it boiled down to a midfield battle in the opening 45 minutes of the game. Following Luka’s substitution, the captain went on to score a penalty in the 88th minute before assisting the winning goal scored in stoppage time.

“We believed that we would correct all these things in the second half, but the substitutes' opponents confused us a little bit. Noah (Sadaoui) went to the left, where his strong position is, and things became hard for us because he was receiving the ball easily. One of the defending things that we wanted to do didn’t work because we wanted to stop him before he received the ball, and he created a chance with the sub (Jesus Jimenez) and some others but no real danger.

After the 60 minutes, we started bringing substitutes after substitutes who helped us a lot. All the boys that came in the game did great, that’s why we scored," he added.