A late penalty from Adam le Fondre helped Mumbai City FC edge out FC Goa 1-0 in an ISL encounter at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday.
FC Goa - down to 10 men after Redeem Tlang was sent off in the 40th minute - looked set to escape with a draw, until disaster struck. Deep into injury time, FC Goa midfielder Lenny Rodrigues tried to block a header inside the box, but made contact with the ball with his outstretched hand.
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Le Fondre stepped up to the spot, and converted with a low, hard strike.
Earlier, Tlang was shown the red card for a rough tackle which caught Hernan Santana above the knee. With Tlang lunging in with his studs up, referee Rahul Kumar had no option but to take tough action.
Despite being a man down, it was FC Goa which created the better chances. Skipper Edu Bedia’s powerful long range forced a terrific save from Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. A few minutes later, Amrinder was called into action again, this time to deny Ivan Gonzalez.
Mumbai City FC, meanwhile, struggled to find rhythm. With the midfield misfiring, Le Fondre was barely called into action. The team’s best chance came in the 74th minute, when le Fondre fired the ball to Mandar Rao Dessai in front of goal. Mandar’s clumsy effort, from point blank range, went over the crossbar.
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It seemed like Mumbai City FC would not be able to score a goal for a second consecutive game. It took a poor play from Rodrigues, seconds before the final whistle, to give Mumbai City FC an escape route.
The match, which saw Mumbai City FC head coach Sergio Lobera and many of his players take on their former club, was an ill-tempered affair. Six yellow cards and a red card were issued, even as the referee did well to ensure that things did not get out of hand.
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