It was a tale of two goalkeepers in the Maharashtra derby, which FC Pune beat Mumbai City FC 1-0 at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. In a cagey contest, it was Mumbai who created good opportunities to score but a goalkeeping blunder by Albino Gomes allowed the returning Eugeneson Lyngdoh to smash the ball into an open net with two minutes left for full-time.

For Pune, their goalkeeper, Edel Bete was once again a powerful presence between the posts and denied three chances for Mumbai, with the most decisive one coming off Diego Forlan’s shot six minutes from time.

Both defences were solid while the ball stalled in the centre of the park for long periods in the game. FC Pune City, despite not making clear-cut chances suffocated the Mumbai forwards between the midfield and defensive line.

The game promised so much for the home side, who welcomed back star striker Sunil Chhetri in the setup. The Indian skipper showed flashes of good feet and there were a couple of occasions where he combined neatly with Forlan but as Edel Bete stood like a rock in between the sticks for Pune, as he has on a number of occasions this season.

The first chance in the game came in the 35 minute to Mumbai as Matias Defederico found space on the right. His shot, though, was too close to Bete’s body – the keeper easily punched the ball away from goal.

Opportunities were few and far between even in the second half. Forlan created two chances in the last 10 minutes of the game. The first one came from a free-kick, with the ball dropping awkwardly in front of Bete, but the Pune keeper recovered well to parry the effort away.

With five minutes left on the clock, Sony Norde slipped an excellent pass to find Forlan in space on the right. The Uruguayan carried the ball into the box and had a shot at goal, but Bete, one again, was in top form, stopping it with his outstretched legs.

The goal was no fluke as Pune were the better team in the final minutes of the game and were constantly floating the ball in the Mumbai box.

Brief scores:

Mumbai City FC 0 lose to FC Pune City 1 (Eugeneson Lyngdoh)