Mohun Bagan Super Giant will lock horns against Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) on Saturday.
The ISL final will not be the first time both teams will play a high-tension clash this season. The last time both teams played on April 15, Mohun Bagan triumphed 2-1, winning its maiden League Shield and dethroning defending champion Mumbai.
How did the match pan out?
Playing in front of a capacity crowd of almost 62,000, Mohun Bagan had a home advantage, but it wasn’t going to be an easy prospect against the Islanders.
Mumbai had the better start, with Lallianzuala Chhangte threatening from the right like he has been doing throughout the season. However, the Mariners backline stayed composed, preventing the Islanders from finding an opening.
Drawing first blood against the run of play
Despite being on the back foot, Mohun Bagan showed why the Salt Lake Stadium is a fortress for it. In the 28th minute, the Mariners drew first blood against the run of play after Liston Colaco found the net.
Receiving the ball on the left after a pass from Dimitrios Petratos, he took on Bipin Singh and managed to evade the tackle from the latter. Then, after cutting inside like he so often does, Colaco fired a shot into the top-right corner with a trademark finish.
Doubling the advantage
The Islanders suffered another blow in a bid to score an equaliser after Jason Cummings doubled the advantage for the Mariners in the 80th minute. As Petr Kratky’s men pushed higher up the pitch, they left a lot of space behind the defence. Petratos turned provider again, finding Cummings with an excellent pass, who carried the ball into the Mumbai box and kept his calm to slot the ball at the back of the net.
A ray of hope but not enough at the end
Even a draw would have sufficed for Mumbai City. Therefore, when Chhangte pulled a goal back for the Islanders from a corner in the 89th minute, there was a ray of hope in the Mumbai camp, in contrast to the nervous faces around the Salt Lake Stadium.
A red card to centre-back Brendan Hamill injected further hope as Mumbai tried their best to utilise the one-man advantage. Getting eight minutes of added time, it was kitchen-sink football from Mumbai, who surged forward to score the precious equaliser.
However, Mohun Bagan held on, protecting its one-goal advantage and won its maiden League Shield in front of the Mariners faithful.
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