Mumbai: Mumbai City FC earned their first win of the season with a 2-0 win at home against FC Pune City on Friday in the Maharashtra derby.
After shooting blanks in their first two games, Moudou Sougou scored the opening goal before Rafael Bastos gave his side a 2-0 lead by the half-way mark.
It was Pune who started on the front foot, trying to float crosses into the box and use Emiliano Alfaro’s prowess in the air. But, the momentum shifted quickly with Pune’s attacking patterns getting one dimensional.
The impressive Nikhil Poojari, though, came close on two occasions with pin-point volleys but Amrinder Singh showed sharp reflexes between the sticks to see out the danger.
Mumbai, meanwhile, were gaining in confidence. Arnold Issoko, who was a delight with his trickery, unleashed a bicycle kick at the far post from Paulo Machado’s cross. Issoko was at the thick of the action in the first quarter, beating the off-side trap but couldn’t get his scoring boots on from close range. Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith made a mess of it, but recovered on time to stop the ball from going into the net.
A goal in the 24th minute of the game calmed Mumbai’s nerves. Machado’s cross from the left wing clipped the post and Sougou bundled the ball into the net.
Mumbai barely put a foot wrong in till the end of the half. In defence, Alfaro was tighly marked by Souvik Chakrabarti and Lucian Goian. The Uruguayan did get a sniff towards the end of the half with a clever run behind the defence but his shot was too weak to trouble Amrinder.
Mumbai countered quickly and Soudou was in at the goalmouth again. Lalchhuanmawia Fanai’s reckless two-footed tackle was enough for the referee to award a penalty. Rafael Bastos made no mistake from the spot to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
Pune’s half went from bad to worse after Ashique Kuruniyan had to walk off the field. His replacement, Robin Singh, was anonymous for the rest of the game.
Pune, who were desperately lacking creativity, came to life deep into the second half through playmaker Marcelinho’s introduction. Alfaro came close with a shot that hit the crossbar.
The second half saw Mumbai retreat in their half but Pune hardly created attacks of note. Towards the closing stages, there was a controversy surrounding a Pune free-kick but that was not going to change Mumbai’s resolve.
Subhasish Bose made a clinical last-ditch block to deny Matt Mills from scoring in stoppage time. This, though, was after Kaith had pulled off a stunning save to deny Goian from giving his side a bigger lead from the penalty spot. Pranjal Bhumij played another smart cameo, clipping the post in the final minute of game.