Margao, Feb 11: Mumbai City FC faced a brief challenge from FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday, but fittingly overcame it with a goal-streak to sum up a remarkable season so far, sealing their second ISL League Shield with a 5-3 win.
In the process, Mumbai also broke Goa’s record of 51 goals in an ISL season with at least four games left in the bank.
Goa were determined not to make Mumbai’s title charge easy, trying to beat them with their own attacking method. They found success with this approach as early as the 5th minute. A free kick found its way to Noah Sadaoui, who danced past three defenders and composed himself to put the home team ahead.
But the league leaders weren’t quiet for long. In the 18th minute, they were gifted a free kick just outside the box in a central position. Greg Stewart stepped up and hit a powerful left-footed shot to Dheeraj Singh’s near post to beat his outstretched right hand.
In the 40th minute, Jorge Diaz was found with a good low delivery from Lallianzuala Chhangte on the right and hooked the ball from the floor to put the Islanders in front.
Their joy was short-lived, as Goa caught them out with a long ball again. Sadaoui turned creator, finding Brandon Fernandes’ run with a lob over the defence to put him one-on-one with Phurba Lachenpa. Fernandes made no mistake with his first touch and the hosts were level again.
But Stewart was on hand again to put Mumbai in front with his second free-kick of the game, this one a more gentle curling effort that bounced off the post into the goal.
In the 71st minute, Chhangte found space for a cross which was handled in the box by Anwar Ali. He stepped up to take it himself to get to double-figures in the season and put the game beyond Goa.
By the 77th minute, the Islanders had both Chhangte and Stewart off the pitch, but the substitutes ran circles around Goa anyway. From a corner, Mourtada Fall headed the ball into Vikram Pratap Singh’s path in front of the goal, and he flicked it in to make it 5-2. Against the run of play, Brison Fernandes found the back of the net to make the score 5-3. (UNI)
