I-League: DSK Shivajians thrashes Mumbai FC 5-0

Holicharan Narzary’s (18th and 30th) first-half strikes put the host in the driving seat, and Sanju Pradhan (48th), Lallianzuala Chhangte (67th) and Jerry Mawihmingthanga (83th) found the target in the second half as Shivajians recorded its biggest win this season.

DSK Shivajians registered its biggest victory in the I-League on Saturday.

DSK Shivajians thrashed Mumbai Football Club 5-0 in a I-League match at Balewadi Stadium here on Saturday.

Holicharan Narzary’s (18th and 30th) first-half strikes put the host in the driving seat, and Sanju Pradhan (48th), Lallianzuala Chhangte (67th) and Jerry Mawihmingthanga (83th) found the target in the second half as Shivajians recorded its biggest win this season.

Mumbai coach Santosh Kashyap made one change to his starting lineup from the side’s previous outing against Mohun Bagan. An injured Thoi Singh was replaced by Brazilian Anderson Raimundo da Silva. DSK Shivajians made three changes, as three attack-minded players were introduced by manager David Rogers as Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Sanju Pradhan and Sumeet Passi started for the host.

The Maharashtra derby started off in a pretty unusual manner with both teams displaying little control and precision when circulating the ball. The gaps began to appear, all over the park. The host utilised most of the opportunities presented, testing Kattimani time and again in the Mumbai goal.

Holicharan Narzary found himself with space and time to measure a volley past the Mumbai goalkeeper to give the hosts an early lead on 15 minutes.

In the aftermath of the opener, Santosh Kashyap reacted quickly and made a substitution, replacing Clyde Fernandes for the experienced Steven Dias in an attempt to get themselves back into the match. DSK Shivajians grew their confidence in the match, dominating possession and creating chances at will. Mumbai could not string together any passes to cause real damage to their opposition, failing to penetrate through or create positive moments in the match.

As the game approached the half hour mark, Sanju Pradhan and Juan Quero combined well down the right, to set up Narzary for his second goal of the match in 27 minutes. As the first-half of the match came to a closure, DSK Shivajians seemed to have had a firm grip on the game with a 2-0 lead. Mumbai had a half to forget.

Matters went from bad to worse for Santosh Kashyap’s side, when the home team scored its third goal just three minutes into the second half. Sanju Pradhan found his name on the scoresheet, after some neat combination play with Quero. Lallianzuala Chhangte, DSK Shivajians’ second-half substitute, scored in 67th minute, collecting the ball from the halfway line and scoring with a delicate finish past Kattimani’s right to make it 4-0 for the hosts.

Jerry Mawihmingthanga made good use of his pace to take full advantage of the space behind Mumbai’s defence and score DSK Shivajians’ fifth goal of the match in 83 minutes.