Sporting Clube de Goa defeated Mumbai FC by a solitary goal in the second leg to enter the semifinals of the Hero Federation Cup with a 2-0 aggregate at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, here today.
The all-important goal was scored by defender Subhasish Bose in the 46th minute from a penalty. Sporting Clube de Goa, which beat Mumbai FC in the away match by identical margin, will now meet Aizawl FC in the first semifinal on May 7.
The match witnessed a disappointing start as neither of the two teams were able to impress in the barren first half.
Sporting Clube de Goa, which had the advantage after winning its away match, played a cautious game and attacked its rivals on counter moves. Sporting had the first real chance after half an hour when Sumeet Passi’s shot from a Ganesh Thakur pass was cleared by a rival defender.
Rowllin Borges, who controlled the midfield well, twice stretched Mumbai FC keeper Kunal Sawant to make good saves.
Mumbai FC, which failed to impress in the first half, had a early chance after the change of ends but Taisuke Matsugae saw his header going over the bar after Minchol Son relayed the ball to him off Eric Brown pass. Sporting finally broke the deadlock soon after the break when it earned a penalty after referee Fasil Salahudeen booked defender Ashutosh Mehta for a foul inside the box.
Subhashish, who took the penalty, made no mistake in converting the chance past Kunal in the 46th minute. The visiting team improved its performance by several notches thereafter and enjoyed better share the ball possession but lacked the ideals inside the rival box.
Mumbai had its best chance toward the end but Pratik Prabhakar Chowdhary’s fierce shot was well saved by Sporting keeper Arindam Bhattacharjee.
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