Mumbai City came back from behind to pull off a hard-fought 4-3 win over 10-man FC Goa in a thrilling match of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at Nehru Stadium on Sunday.
Mumbai City, who were down 1-2 at half time, scored three goals in a thrilling second half after Goa were reduced to ten men in the 48th minute.
The win takes Mumbai City to fifth place with 17 points from 12 matches, while FC Goa remained on fourth place with 19 points from 11 matches.
FC Goa, who were looking for their third successive win to maintain their fourth place, controlled the proceeding with fluid passes but were unable to penetrate the rival defence who defended resolutely.
Goa’s best chance came in the 16th minute when Madar Rao Dessai, who troubled the rival defence on the left, had a chance but he shot over the bar.
Mumbai City, who have lost all their three matches in the New Year, were desperately looking to win today and they came with counter move and Balwant Singh nearly succeeded in finding the net but his volley from inside the box lacked the punch as it went straight to keeper Laxmikant Kattimani.
Ferran Corominas, who was kept on tight lease by the rival defender, finally managed to put FC Goa ahead in the 34th minute.
A quick build up from the middle saw Corominas lay a pass to Mandar Rao Desai whose left footer saw the ball deflected on rival keeper Amrinder Singh’s chest and fall on his path as Corominas slotted the ball into the net.
However, FC Goa’s joy was short lived as their defence once again crumbled under pressure two minutes latter and allowed Mumbai City to restore parity.
A quick move inside the box by Balwant Singh saw him pass the ball inside the box to Achille Emana Edzimbi, who laid it off for Everton Leandro, who pulled the trigger and the ball landed into the net taking a touch of Thiago Nascimento dos Santos.
FC Goa retaliated and after coming close to scoring again took the lead in the stoppage time through Manuel Lanzarote to have Goa leading 2-1 at half time.
A move on the left saw Desai intercept a back pass from defender Sanju Pradhan and release a square pass to on-rushing Manuel Lanzarote Bruno, who slotted the ball into the net.
FC Goa, who enjoyed lion’s share of exchanges in the first half, were looking to continue the same in the second half but received a set back when they were reduced to 10-man after defender Seriton Fernandes received second yellow for pulling down Everton Santos from behind.
But the home team kept on attacking and Manuel Lanzarote nearly scored his second goal when his rasping drive was put out by rival keeper Amrinder Singh in the 48th minute.
After this close shave, Mumbai earned a penalty when defender Mohammed Ali brought down Everton Leandro Dos Santos Pinto inside the box and referee Ramaswamy Srikrishna pointed out the penalty which Emana Edzimbi converted in the 54th minute to make it 2-2.
The match suddenly came alive as both the teams went on attack and Mumbai City who enjoyed the numerical advantage took the lead in the 70th minute through Thiago after he missed a close chance.
Thiago Nascimento, who was the live wire upfront, initiated the move from the middle and released a through pass to Balwant Singh, who on the run, took a shot which deflected off diving rival keeper and came to Thiago Nascimento who shot home from the rebound to put Mumbai ahead.
After the set back, the home team did not lose hope and kept on attacking and restored parity in the 78th minute.
Ahmed Jahouh made a run on the right flank and released the ball to Ferran Corominas who sprinted down inside the box and after getting the better of rival defender and keeper shot home from an acute angle to restore parity.
The Goan, who found the going tough, again succumbed to the pressure in the 86th minute as Mumbai City went ahead.
A build up from the middle saw Achille Emana Edzimbi release the ball to Thaigo Nascimento, whose shot deflected a defender and came to Balwant Singh who shot home to give Mumbai City their first win in the New year and take them to fifth place.
ATK virtually out of contention
Jamshedpur FC rode on a Trindade Goncalves penalty to prevail over ATK by a solitary goal as the two-time champions failed to snap their losing streak, virtually missing out on a ISL Playoff berth.
The 21-year-old Brazilian forward took his time and swiftly put it across Debjit Majumder to bring on the decisive goal in the 66th minute in a match in which both the teams squandered plenty of chances.
It was Hitesh Sharma who committed the mistake bringing down Trindade with a clumsy tackle that cost them the penalty in the 64th minute as their title defence is all but over.
Coming off from a defeat at Pune City, Jamshedpur thus returned to winning ways to be on 19 points from 13 matches as they climbed to fifth place behind FC Goa who are ahead on goal difference.
For ATK there was no end to misery as their sixth defeat in row means they remain in eighth position with 12 points from as many matches.
Lack of finishing cost ATK dearly as Martin Paterson, David Cotterill and Robin Singh all had their chances but could not convert.
They should also give credit to Debjit Majumder who stood tall under the bar to save them from more embarrassment.
Jamshedpur clearly looked the better side as they hit the post, snuck past the opponent defence multiple times but to remain goalless till more than an hour.
ATK’s Paterson came close for his side with a smart run towards the near post to get on the end of David Cotterill’s corner.
He timed his shot well but the Jamshedpur goalkeeper Subrata Paul showed his agility to deny Paterson.
Majumder too made a couple of good saves.
In the 45th minute, Wellington Priori had a go from outside the box and forced a smart save from the goalkeeper Majumder.
Izu Azuka was at hand to tap the rebound home but only to be adjudged offside in what seemed a tight call from the replays.
Three minutes later, ATK had a narrow escape when Jerry Mawihmingthanga brilliantly skipped past his marker and sent in a teasing cross into the box but Trindade’s rightfooted strike rattled the woodwork.
In the 56th minute, Trindade’s firm header drifted away as Jamshedpur kept putting pressure on a lacklustre ATK.
In the 93rd minute, a curling ball from Keegan Pereira set it up for Robin Singh who came agonisingly close but his header went wide
With three of their foreigners – Zequinha, Robbie Keane, Ryan Taylor and yet to recover from injuries – Westwood had four foreigners at his disposal and all of them started.
Westwood made three changes in the starting XI who lost to Chennaiyin FC 1-2 in the last match with Hitesh Sharma, Robin Singh and Ashutosh Mehta coming in place of Ryan Taylor, Shankar Sampingiraj and Prabir Das.
First leg between the two teams had ended in a goalless draw.