Mumbai City FC sneaked past East Bengal FC by 1-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in the Indian Super League on Tuesday.
Post the departure of key stars in the January transfer window, the Mumbai team would be relieved by the performance put in by former FC Goa star Iker Guarrotxena, who joined Petr Kratky’s team last month.
The attacker made an impact straightaway by getting hold of a starting spot, teasing the East Bengal FC defence with his sharp movements.
Guarrotxena was on target in the fourth minute itself, which was set up by Vikram Pratap Singh through a low cross. The striker was merely six yards out at the moment, but he couldn’t finish successfully.
Lallianzuala Chhangte got on the move soon afterwards, dazzling across the frontline and playing key roles in creating chances for Tiri and Guarrotxena.
Chhangte pounced upon a corner kick to square up a delivery for Tiri first, which the former Jamshedpur FC defender couldn’t put into the back of the net. Guarrotxena’s effort in the 18th minute fell short of getting the visitors the lead too.
It all paid off in the 24th minute, with Spaniard Alberto Noguera chipping in a delightful delivery from some yards inside the halfway mark that Guarrotxena did well to bring down and control first up. Despite losing possession briefly, he was aware enough to recover the ball and hammer it in from the centre of the box.
The forward was a troublesome figure for East Bengal FC throughout the game, earning fouls from dangerous positions and getting to the end of precise passes from close quarters.
Though he couldn’t double his goal-scoring for the game, he ensured that the home side was pegged back in their own half for the majority of the game, reflecting in the massive 67.3% possession that the Islanders held throughout the game.
For East Bengal FC, Hijazi Maher and Victor Vazquez had decent chances to equalise in either halves, but none of those efforts bore the required fruit as they succumbed to their second loss in a row.
