PUNE, Dec 23 : Mumbai Football Club scored their one of the most memorable win in I-League football championship when they beat East Bengal 2-1 in the Round XII match at the Balewadi Sports Complex Stadium here on Sunday.
Gabriel Fernandes drew the first blood with a bullet of a shot over East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s stretched hands as Mumbai FC showed total domination on home turf. In a match that saw several rough tackles—Mumbai FC Darren Caldeira was rushed to hospital with injuries—seven minutes were added into the regulation time.
There was no doubt which team was on the up and taking advantage of the situation, Mumbai FC striker Yusuf Yakubu made it 2-0 in the fifth minute of injury time before East Bengal found a consolation goal through Chidi Edeh in the final minute of the match.
The win propelled Mumbai FC to 19 points from 12 matches as they climbed one step on the I-League ladder to No 5, pushing Prayag United SC down to No 6 position. East Bengal stay at No 4 with 21 points.
The match opened with East Bengal making several forays, but a disjointed forward-line hardly helped. Harmanjot Khabra had a real chance to put East Bengal ahead in the 14th minute, but Abhshek Yadav cleared the shot with a header in front of the goal.
Mumbai FC then handed a freekick to East Bengal when Manandeep Singh was brought down at the top of the box, but Chidi’s powerful shot was defused by the Mumbai FC wall. The home team then took over the control with neat passing. Captain Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri rushed up from the right, but his cross was nullified when East Bengal defenders parried the ball away.
Ensuing throw-in from near the flag went straight into goalkeeper Sandhu’s hands.
Gabriel swung into action after laying low for a while, but his run for the ball fell shot when Nicholas Rodrigues sent a through ball for him. Gabriel had only the goalkeeper to beat, but he mismatched his run.
After going into break goalless, Mumbai began the second half proceedings on a defensive note. East Bengal on the other hand relied fully on Chidi to do the damage. He created a chance in the 62nd minute but his powerful swipe at the ball hit a defender in the box and ball went into play.
On the counter-attack, Mumbai FC earned a through in some 50 yards from the East Bengal post. Ashutosh Mehta’s throw found Yakubu in the middle, who collected the ball and on the turn pushes it for onrushing Gabriel, who beat two defenders before firing the ball between the stretched Sandhu and the crosspiece.
The lead for Mumbai was enough to inspire them to go for the kill, while East Bengal seemed to falter away. The Kolkata giants wasted several corners as Mumbai FC made sure they had their defence in place.
Two minutes from full time, Mumbai FC created a gem of a chance when Rodrigues and Amiri set up Kamaljeet Kumar. Rodrigues rushed ahead to take the ball again from Kamaljeet, before East Bengal foiled the attempt in the box.
In the fourth minute of injury time, Yakubu flung himself through the right flank beating two defenders before slotting in from a acute angle to make it 2-0. Then Chidi scored in the last minute of the match, but that came because Mumbai FC relaxed a bit leaving the defence open.
Gabriel Fernandes drew the first blood with a bullet of a shot over East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s stretched hands as Mumbai FC showed total domination on home turf. In a match that saw several rough tackles—Mumbai FC Darren Caldeira was rushed to hospital with injuries—seven minutes were added into the regulation time.
There was no doubt which team was on the up and taking advantage of the situation, Mumbai FC striker Yusuf Yakubu made it 2-0 in the fifth minute of injury time before East Bengal found a consolation goal through Chidi Edeh in the final minute of the match.
The win propelled Mumbai FC to 19 points from 12 matches as they climbed one step on the I-League ladder to No 5, pushing Prayag United SC down to No 6 position. East Bengal stay at No 4 with 21 points.
The match opened with East Bengal making several forays, but a disjointed forward-line hardly helped. Harmanjot Khabra had a real chance to put East Bengal ahead in the 14th minute, but Abhshek Yadav cleared the shot with a header in front of the goal.
Mumbai FC then handed a freekick to East Bengal when Manandeep Singh was brought down at the top of the box, but Chidi’s powerful shot was defused by the Mumbai FC wall. The home team then took over the control with neat passing. Captain Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri rushed up from the right, but his cross was nullified when East Bengal defenders parried the ball away.
Ensuing throw-in from near the flag went straight into goalkeeper Sandhu’s hands.
Gabriel swung into action after laying low for a while, but his run for the ball fell shot when Nicholas Rodrigues sent a through ball for him. Gabriel had only the goalkeeper to beat, but he mismatched his run.
After going into break goalless, Mumbai began the second half proceedings on a defensive note. East Bengal on the other hand relied fully on Chidi to do the damage. He created a chance in the 62nd minute but his powerful swipe at the ball hit a defender in the box and ball went into play.
On the counter-attack, Mumbai FC earned a through in some 50 yards from the East Bengal post. Ashutosh Mehta’s throw found Yakubu in the middle, who collected the ball and on the turn pushes it for onrushing Gabriel, who beat two defenders before firing the ball between the stretched Sandhu and the crosspiece.
The lead for Mumbai was enough to inspire them to go for the kill, while East Bengal seemed to falter away. The Kolkata giants wasted several corners as Mumbai FC made sure they had their defence in place.
Two minutes from full time, Mumbai FC created a gem of a chance when Rodrigues and Amiri set up Kamaljeet Kumar. Rodrigues rushed ahead to take the ball again from Kamaljeet, before East Bengal foiled the attempt in the box.
In the fourth minute of injury time, Yakubu flung himself through the right flank beating two defenders before slotting in from a acute angle to make it 2-0. Then Chidi scored in the last minute of the match, but that came because Mumbai FC relaxed a bit leaving the defence open.
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