ISL 2020-21: Mumbai City beats FC Goa 6-5 on penalties to cruise into maiden ISL final

ISL 2020-21: Rowllin Borges struck the decisive penalty as Mumbai City FC beat FC Goa 6-5 on penalties to storm into its first Indian Super League final.

Mumbai City FC's Rowllin Borges celebrates scoring match-winning penalty against FC Goa during their ISL 2020-21 semifinal clash on Monday.

Luck favoured a rusty Mumbai City FC side on Monday as it beat FC Goa 6-5 on penalties (2-2 aggregate score) after a goalless draw at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim to storm into the Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) final.

The triumph took MCFC to the summit clash for the first time in the ISL's short history. Mumbai City's opponents in the final will be decided on Tuesday when ATK Mohun Bagan takes on NorthEast United FC in the second leg of their semifinal.

Match highlights|

Captain Amrinder Singh was the hero for the Islanders as he produced six crucial saves before being substituted for Phurba Lachenpa after extra-time.  In the shootout, FC Goa players missed four spot-kicks, three of which failed to find the target. FC Goa goalkeeper Naveen Kumar, who also came on a substitute, made three penalty saves that went in vain as the better club lost on the night. 

Mumbai City FC players celebrate Rowllin Borges' match-winning penalty against FC Goa during their ISL 2020-21 semifinal clash on Monday.

 

Earlier, FC Goa manager Juan Ferrando brought back the the Spanish duo of Alberto Noguera and Ivan Gonzalez to his line-up while dropping Igor Angulo. Meanwhile, Amey Ranawade replaced Mandar Rao Dessai as one of the three changes in Sergio Lobera's XI.

Mumbai initially dominated possession in the first half. However, the Gaurs shifted gears and came close to scoring in the 27th minute. Noguera got the ball from Saviour Gama, dribbled past an opposition player and took a shot. Amrinder produced a decent save but only as far as Redeem Tlang, who fired a shot off the rebound. Ranawade threw his body on the line to avert the danger.

Mumbai City's Amey Ranawade in action against FC Goa's Adil Khan in the ISL.

The 62nd minute of the match saw drama at both ends. MCFC had a penalty claim denied when Adil Khan looked to have handled the ball when trying to deal with an Adam Le Fondre move forward. But replays clearly showed that Adil's tackle was a fair one.

PODCAST - FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando's first season in ISL comes to an end. He has had among the most challenging start to life in India. In this episode of The Full Time Show, he speaks to Aashin Prasad about his maiden season in ISL, quarantine and player management, coaching style, contentious refereeing and his takeaways from the season.

A few seconds later, Ishan Pandita's diving header, off a Alexander Jesuraj cross, was parried away by Amrinder. Both teams had half chances later in the encounter, but 120 minutes weren't enough as penalties were needed to get a result. Mumbai didn't attempt a single shot on target all game.

Despite overseas recruits Hernan Santana, Hugo Boumous and Ahmed Jahouh missing from the spot, the Islanders rode on Rowllin Borges' strike to cruise into the final, days after they won the ISL League Winners Shield .

Here's how the penalty shoot-out played out Edu Bedia - MISS (right corner, pushed away by  the 'keeper) Bartholomew Ogbeche - SCORES (buries it into the bottom corner) 0-1 Brandon Fernandes- MISS! (Off the post) Hernan Santana - MISS! (Ravi Kumar goes to his left to make the save) 0-1 Igor Angulo - SCORES! (rolled into the right bottom corner)Hugo Boumous - MISS! (Hits it straight at the ‘keeper) 1-1 Ivan Gonzalez - SCORES! (Nestled into the right) Raynier Fernandes - SCORES! (Sends the ‘keeper the wrong way, opens his foot at the last second) 2-2 James Donachie - MISSES! (skies it over the top of the crossbar) Ahmed Jahouh - MISSES! ('Keeper moves to his right to make a strong block) 2-2 Ishan Pandita - SCORES! (Slots it into the left corner) Amey Ranawade - SCORES! (Straight down the middle) 3-3 Jorge Ortiz - SCORES! (Cool finish, ‘keeper goes the other way) Mourtada Fall - SCORES! (Brilliantly tucked into left bottom corner) 4-4 Adil Khan - SCORES! (‘Keeper gets a glove on it but can’t keep it out) Mandar Rao Dessai - SCORES! (Goes for power and busts the net) 5-5 Glan Martins - MISSES! (Side foots it, but wide of the target)Rollwin Borges - SCORES! (Drilled into the left bottom corner) 6-5 to Mumbai City!