A late Balwant Singh Sahni strike gave Mumbai City FC a remarkable 4-3 win over FC Goa in the Indian Super League encounter at Fatorda Stadium on Sunday. In an intense battle, Sahni pulled the plug on Goa to keep his side’s hope of making it to the last four alive.
Ferran Corominas gave the home side the lead at the half hour mark after getting past the Mumbai defenders with some neat footwork. The Spaniard laid the ball for Mandar Rao to strike on goal, but his effort was saved by Amrinder Singh, and Corominas found himself in the right place to tap in the rebound.
The home side's lead, however, didn't last long. Barely a minute later, Everton Santos drew parity. Thiago Santos got a shot away from the edge of the box and it took a deflection of Everton before making its way into the goal.
As half-time approached, both teams looked destined to head back to the dressing room on level terms but a horrible mix up between Sanju Pradhan and Amrinder gave Manuel Lanzarote an easy opportunity to give Goa the lead for the second time.
The home side dealt with a heavy blow early on in the second half when Seriton Fernandes was shown a second yellow for a foul on Everton. Goa was reduced to 10-men and coach Sergio Lobera quickly made a change to his team formation.
Things got worse for the home side 10 minutes later when the referee pointed to the spot after Mohamed Ali brought down Everton down inside the box with a late sliding tackle. Achille Emana calmly slotted the ball home in the 54th minute to bring Mumbai back into the tie.
It was then Thiago Santos’ turn to give Mumbai the lead for the first time in the game with 20 minutes left on the clock as he latched on to a rebound to make it 3-2 in his side's favour.
Despite its numerical disadvantage, the home side continued to attack and equalised in remarkable fashion in the 78th minute through star striker Corominas. Ahmed Jahouh's pass put Corominas on goal and he chipped past the goalkeeper for his 12th goal of the season.
It looked like the home side had done enough to salvage a draw but there was a late twist to the tale. In the 86th minute, Everton's shot was partially saved by Kattamani and the resulting rebound found Balwant, who found the back of the net and sealed a hard-fought win for Mumbai.
Comments
SHARE